Postal Head Is Under Fire for Delivery Delays

WASHINGTON — Angry members of Congress berated Postmaster General Marvin T. Runyon Jr. Thursday for allowing the quality of mail service to deteriorate, citing reports of millions of pieces of mail found stashed in trucks and letters arriving weeks or months late in the nation’s capital.

“You have focused on cutting overhead and may have left the Postal Service in a state of unpreparedness,” Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) told Runyon in one of several heated exchanges at a House subcommittee hearing.

As much as 75% of the mail handled at a huge processing center in Maryland has been subject to delays, complained Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.), citing a report by Postal Service inspectors. And Rep. Leslie L. Byrne (D-Va.) said that Postal Service managers sometimes order date stamps on bags of mail altered to hide delivery delays. She also said that officials had hidden some delayed mail on a day when she toured a postal processing center.

Runyon pledged to improve service, blaming a Postal Service “culture” that sometimes allows local management officials to act like “dictators.” The controversy over mail service in the Washington area reflected rising congressional skepticism about a major restructuring program launched by Runyon, who is beginning his third year as postmaster general.

Runyon’s defenders note that he has saved the Postal Service money through a buyout program that trimmed 47,000 workers from the payroll in 1992. They say that postal customers have benefited because he has delayed a request for a rate hike. The 29-cent stamp, which has been in effect for first-class mail since 1991, will continue until next year, when an increase to 32 cents is likely. Traditionally, rates have been increased every three years.

But Runyon’s critics say that the financial savings to the Postal Service and consumers have come at too high a cost in terms of service, that the accuracy and reliability of delivery has deteriorated because many of the workers who took the buyout were experienced mail handlers and letter carriers.