Virginia lawmakers demand answers from USPS after lengthy mail delivery delays render cancer tests unusable

Virginia Senators Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner, along with Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) and Representatives Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-4), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-7), Jen Kiggans (R-VA-2), and Bob Good (R-VA-5), are urging the U.S. Postal Service to explain delays in delivering 870 colon cancer test samples to the Richmond Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

In a joint letter to USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Virginia District Manager Gerald Roane, the lawmakers accused the agency of failing to respond to repeated requests for explanation about the tests. More than half of the tests were older than two weeks and could not be used, and some dated as far back as mid-2023.

“We want to be clear; this is unacceptable,” the lawmakers wrote. “These issues with postal delays have caused unnecessary stress and harm for our constituents and suggest to us that the issues in the region are worse than we thought.”

The lawmakers are requesting a briefing with USPS and a tour of the relevant facility to better understand the causes of these unacceptable delays and discuss what is being done to prevent them from happening again.

“We are unsatisfied with the level of urgency and responsiveness the agency has demonstrated with the issues we have raised previously, and this must change with this new revelation,” the lawmakers continued. “USPS has recently declined requests for meetings and tours to discuss these issues -- Postal Service customers in Central Virginia deserve transparency and explanation, as soon as possible, regarding these issues.”

The Richmond VA Medical Center has been working with the USPS to investigate the delivery and found that the tests were sent out by veterans and returned by mail.