WASHINGTON (WCAX) – U.S. Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont is urging bipartisan support in Congress to pass disaster relief funding, joining calls from other disaster-impacted states.
Welch also called out the postmaster general, saying he failed to deliver for rural communities after Vermont’s catastrophic flooding. That includes in Montpelier, which has been without a fully functioning post office for over a year.
“This is not your standard, run-of-the-mill management failure of the USPS. No, this is really a dereliction of duty, in my view, by Postmaster General DeJoy. He is choosing to not open a post office– a task his agency has done thousands of times, quickly, in their 250-year history,” said Welch, D-Vermont.
According to Welch, the U.S. Postal Service has an internal benchmark for restoring service after disaster of 180 days. It has now been more than 430 days.
Work is underway in Montpelier to establish a new post office on the first floor of the City Center building after the federal building flooded.
Welch has accused the Postal Service of being unresponsive to calls from Vermont’s congressional delegation.