Amid Mail Delays in Bozeman, Tester Pushes Postal Service to Restore Full Service

Senator: “I urge you to consider options that would provide more immediate relief to the community”

Following reports from Montanans about unreliable mail service in Bozeman, U.S. Senator Jon Tester yesterday sent a letter to United States Postal Service (USPS) leadership urging them to find immediate solutions to the challenges facing the Bozeman office and restore timely mail service as quickly as possible.

“I am hearing directly from members of the Bozeman community that are experiencing significant gaps and delays in mail service,” wrote Tester. “…While it appears hiring additional staff is likely the best long-term solution to current mail service issues, I urge you to consider options that would provide more immediate relief to the community, such as bolstering the Bozeman office with staff detailed from other locations that are sufficiently staffed. I also ask that you take steps to inform local postal customers about the current status of mail service in Bozeman and USPS’s plan to address the shortcomings.”

Senator Tester has been Montana’s leading champion on ensuring reliable mail service across Montana. Last month, Senator Tester successfully led the charge to prevent the closure of the Coram post office, and earlier this year, the President signed his bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act into law, which will ensure long-term, reliable mail service in rural America and put the USPS on sound financial footing. He has repeatedly pushed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on USPS policy changes that have delayed mail, threatened to undermine the agency, and harmed rural America.

In 2020, Tester blew the whistle on USPS for removing dozens of mail collection boxes from towns across Montana, leading USPS to pause its removal of collection boxes nationwide until after the November election. Since the beginning of the pandemic, thousands of Montanans have contacted Tester to express concerns about mail delays and their effects on Montana’s frontier communities.

Read Senator Tester’s full letter HERE.