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Committee endorses resolution urging USPS to fix mail delivery problems in North Dakota
Summary
The committee voted to give House Concurrent Resolution 3006 a do‑pass recommendation after numerous witnesses described delayed or missing mail, late newspapers, lost ballots, and business harms linked to U.S. Postal Service operations in the state.
The House Political Subdivisions Committee gave a do‑pass recommendation to House Concurrent Resolution 3006, a measure urging the U.S. Postal Service to improve mail processing and delivery across North Dakota.
Representative Don Longviewer introduced the resolution and described personal instances of late bills and destroyed packages, saying the measure seeks to alert the congressional delegation and postal leadership to persistent problems. "What about the number of people waiting for medications, legal documents, or other important papers?" Longviewer asked, describing instances when a bundle of backlogged mail was discovered at the post office.
Testimony in favor of the resolution came from a wide cross‑section of stakeholders: the North Dakota Newspaper Association, Prairie Public supporters, county auditors, electric cooperatives, health care coalitions, the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association, United Printing, and individual residents. Cecile Wurman, executive director of the North Dakota Newspaper Association, said periodical delivery standards had shifted and her members had seen a 53 percent increase in distribution costs over three years. She and others recounted instances where entire print runs containing election information were delayed, in some cases arriving on or after election day.
County auditors and the secretary of state’s office described absentee ballot handling concerns; auditors asked USPS to hand‑stamp and locally handle election mail to ensure timely delivery. The North Dakota Association of Counties said the USPS had committed to an "extreme measures" campaign to treat election mail differently after problems in the June primary.
Other witnesses described business harms: a seed‑stock producer mailed 848 sale catalogs and, weeks later, hundreds remained undelivered; an electric cooperative magazine and United Printing said delayed mail undermined member communications and livelihoods. Testimony included anecdotal cases of letters returning years late and of packages destroyed because addresses used PO box numbers rather than street addresses.
Committee members voted 12 yeas, 0 nays, 1 absent, not voting to advance the resolution and the chair said it would be placed on the consent calendar. Witnesses urged federal attention and better local communication from USPS offices to publishers and businesses.
