RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — As the U.S. Postal Service continues to reject requests for transparency regarding ongoing mail issues plaguing central Virginia, local leaders are shedding light on a situation which suggests the problem has escalated and is impacting people’s health.
Local officials recently learned that hundreds of colon cancer test samples had to be marked unusable after postal delays caused them to be delivered to the Richmond Veterans Administration Medical Center well beyond the 15-day window in which they’re valid. Some of the tests that were just received date back to mid-2023.
Central Virginia residents have spent the last few months grasping for answers from the United States Postal Service, continuing to ask why they aren’t receiving their mail on time – or sometimes even at all. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who has taken a prominent role in this fight from the beginning, spoke with members of the media about the issues Tuesday.
“To say that there is outrage around the table about this issue… would be an understatement,” Sen. Kaine said. “People are shocked.”
Just a few weeks ago, the postal agency rejected lawmakers’ second request for a “Postal Town Hall.” Leaders proposed this large-scale meeting as an effort to increase transparency, it would have given postal service representatives a local platform to answer questions from concerned citizens and address central Virginia officials.
“Negligence, or incompetence or inadequate workforce,” Sen. Kaine exclaimed. “There’s a million different problems that we’ve been raising with the U.S. Postal Service and not getting answers.”
On Tuesday, Jan. 30, bipartisan leaders wrote yet another letter to the postal system, this time requesting a briefing and tour of a Richmond-area postal facility. 8News has covered residents’ experiences with missing bills and letters, but the expired colon cancer tests was a primary catalyst for this latest action. Sen. Kaine said that, in some ways, it’s the “most egregious” example of the postal service’s recent missteps.
“[They are] samples that need to be analyzed to help determine whether [our veterans] need medical care, possibly life-saving medical care,” Sen. Kaine said.
8News asked Sen. Kaine what would happen if this most recent request goes ignored or rejected.
“I do have a game plan in mind,” Sen. Kaine assured. “I’m not going to announce it right now, but stay tuned, because you’re going to see us move in a very public way on this. If we can’t get, you know, the kind of response we need in a letter, we have other tools at our disposal. So, just stay tuned.”
After months without a response or comment from the U.S. Postal Service, 8News received the following statement Tuesday evening:
We are investigating instances brought to our attention. Customers who have questions should call the Virginia District Consumer Affairs Office at 804-775-6313. When a formal inquiry is received from an elected official, it’s postal protocol to respond directly to the official.
As tax season begins, and with major elections looming — officials reiterated they don’t want to let the U.S. Postal Service continue dodging Richmonders’ questions.
