Press Release

Today, Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth sent a letter to Postmaster General Donahoe asking that the Post Office continue delivering medications to all Americans six days a week. Last week, the USPS announced that it would be moving to a five-day delivery schedule.

After the Postmaster General’s announcement, Congresswoman Duckworth assembled a bipartisan group of lawmakers to address this issue for groups such as seniors and Veterans. “Whether it is a homebound senior that cannot walk or drive to the pharmacy, or a Veteran who lives in a rural area with limited access to the prescription drugs they need, many of these home delivery beneficiaries cannot afford to go without their medications for days,” said Duckworth. 88 members of the House of Representatives signed Congresswoman Duckworth’s bipartisan letter. The text of the letter is below:

Patrick R. Donahoe
Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer
United States Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza, Southwest
Washington, DC 20260

February 11, 2013

Dear Postmaster General Donahoe:

On behalf of the undersigned Members of Congress, I would like to express our concern with your recent announcement to end the United States Postal Service’s tradition of six-day mail delivery and its effect on the growing population of seniors, servicemen and women, Veterans, and disabled Americans that rely on home delivery of their prescription drugs. Some of us are opposed to the new 5-day delivery schedule, others have welcomed it; regardless, all of us want to ensure that our constituents will be able to receive the medications that they depend on, in a timely manner.

In our home districts, Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, VA and other beneficiaries currently rely on low cost delivery of prescription drugs to their doorstep. Whether it is a homebound senior that cannot walk or drive to the pharmacy, or a Veteran who lives in a rural area with limited access to the prescription drugs they need, all of these home delivery beneficiaries cannot afford to go without their medications for days. Nor should they have to obtain their medications through more costly delivery methods, which would only draw business away from the USPS and threaten its long term financial stability.

This growing population of home delivery prescription beneficiaries is not only good for the USPS and patients, but our government as a whole. According to the Department of Defense, the government saved $33 million in FY2010 alone through use of TRICARE’s Home Delivery Program. Home delivery is the most cost effective way of filling prescriptions for TRICARE beneficiaries, and saves Medicare and Medicaid money as well. This integral part of the USPS’s services should not be changed in your reform and restructuring of the federal postal service.

Ahead of your testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Operations Committee on Wednesday, February 13, we would like you to lay out specific guidelines that would include prescription drugs in 6-day package delivery. Although you have mentioned that packages will be included in Saturday delivery, we would like further clarification on which classes of service and formal definitions of package you will consider.

Some medications are mailed in small plastic envelopes that don’t fit in the traditional definition of package, while others are mailed through first class service and thus, may be eliminated on Saturdays depending on your guidance. Please ensure that they properly examine all the ways in which prescription drugs are mailed through USPS, and exempt them from your new 5-day delivery schedule.

We look forword to hearing your response and working together to ensure the quality of service provided to our constituents will remain the same, and that the Postal Office grows its business and stays strong for the decades to come.

Sincerely,

Tammy Duckworth

Member of Congress

List of Cosigners to the letter:
Jim Langevin (RI-02)
David N. Cicilline (RI-01)
Kathy Castor (FL-14)
Colleen Hanabusa (HI-01)
Cedric Richmond (LA-02)
Mark Pocan (WI-2)
Bradley Schneider (IL-10)
Dan Kildee (MI-5)
Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01)
Janice Hahn (CA-44)
Joyce Beatty (OH-03)
Pete Gallego (TX-23)
James McGovern (MA-02)
Cheri Bustos (IL-17)
Julia Brownley (CA-26)
Ron Barber (AZ-02)
Timothy Walz (MN-1)
Lois Frankel (FL-22)
Sam Farr (CA-20)
Terri A. Sewell (AL-07)
Joseph Kennedy (MA-04)
Sander Levin (MI-9)
Chelllie Pingree (ME-01)
Zoe Lofgren (CA-19)
Derek Kilmer (WA-06)
Jared Polis (CO-02)
Mark Takano (CA-41)
Tony Cardenas (CA-29)
Donna M Christensen (Virgin Islands)
Raul Grijalva (AZ-3)
Dave Loebsack (IA-2)
Carol Shea Porter (NH-1)
Juan Vargas (CA-51)
Jared Huffman (CA-02)
Mike Honda (CA-17)
William Enyart (IL-12)
Michael Michaud (ME-2)
Jerrold Nadler (NY-10)
Stephen Lynch (MA-09)
Peter DeFazio (OR-4)
Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC)
Eliot Engel (NY-16)
Henry Waxman (CA-33)
Tom Latham (IA-5)
Lois Capps (CA-24)
Elijah Cummings (MD-07)
Keith Ellison (MN-05)
Barbara Lee (CA-13)
G.K. Butterfield (NC-01)
Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05)
Albio Sires (NJ-8)
Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04)
Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)
Michael G. Fitzpatrick (PA-08)
C.W. Bill Young (FL-13)
Scott Peters (CA-52)
Rosa DeLauro (CT-03)
Eni F. H. Faleomavaega (AS)
Sanford Bishop (GA-2)
Gene Green (TX-29)
Mike Quigley
Hank Johnson (GA-04)
Nick Rahall (WV-03)
Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01)
Carolyn Maloney (NY-12)
Yvette Clarke (NY-09)
Jerry McNerney (CA-09)
John Shimkus (IL-15)
Donald Payne (NJ-10)
Elizabeth Esty (CT-5)
Kevin Yoder (KS-03)
Rich Nugent (FL-11)
Jim McDermott (WA-07)
John Carter (TX-31)
Earl Blumenauer
Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25)
Doris Matsui (CA-06)
Alan Lowenthal (CA-47)
Raul Ruiz (CA-36)
Linda Sanchez (CA-38)
Donna Edwards (MD-04)
Steve Cohen (TN-09)
Dan Lipinski (IL-03)
Ami Bera (CA-07)
John Lewis (GA-5)
Anna Eshoo (CA-18)

Adam Schiff (CA-28)