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Whether you're looking to apply for a passport or you need to send off an absentee ballot to vote, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is a vital institution that provides essential services to people across the country. But the agency is not exactly at its most functional right now, as it has been battling challenges from staffing shortages to financial shortcomings over the past few years. In April, President Joe Biden signed the Postal Service Reform Act, which is set provide nearly $50 billion in relief to the USPS over the next 10 years, in an attempt to help strengthen the agency. It won't be an easy fix, however—especially now that the Postal Service is getting slammed over another problem altogether. Read on to find out what issue is now being described as "deeply troubling" by elected officials.

Basahin ito sa susunod:USPS Just Issued This "Uncomfortable" New Warning to All Customers.

A number of problems the Postal Service has been dealing with recently have fallen back on the Americans it serves. In January, the USPS faced backlash for a website glitch that was preventing people from ordering their free COVID tests from the White House. Meanwhile, residents across the country have repeatedly complained about delivery delays from the postal agency, which have been brought on by the COVID pandemic, staffing shortages, and increased mail volume.

It's not just the average consumer pushing back against the USPS either. In early April, the Postal Service confirmed that it is planning to raise the price of stamps significantly in July. In response, two major postal nonprofits and members of Congress have been petitioning against the price hike. "They do not need these excessive rate hikes now," Stephen Kearney, executive director of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, told USA Today.

The most recent backlash levied at the Postal Service pertains to a different issue entirely. On May 31, four U.S. senators sent a letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy criticizing the agency for rising mail theft, NBC10 in Philadelphia reported. The senators, including both Democrats and Republicans, are Tom Carper from Delaware, Bob Casey from Pennsylvania, Rob Portman from Ohio, and Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania.

"Reports that thieves are accessing USPS Blue Collection boxes to steal and then sort through mail to identify checks that they then use for personal gain are deeply troubling," the senators wrote in their letter. "Americans use the Postal Service to mail checks to pay their taxes and bills; they should not have to worry that those checks may be stolen."ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

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While there are multiple types of mail theft, the senators are specifically referring to "washed check" thefts, according to NBC10. The news outlet said they've covered several reports of this scheme in 2022, which involves a thief gaining access to mail from the USPS, finding a personal check, and then fraudulently recreating and cashing the check for a large amount of money.

Postal Police Officer's Association (PPOA) President Frank Albergo told NBC-affiliate News 4 in Washington, D.C., that thieves are now gaining access to USPS mail by attacking and robbing carriers of their arrow key, which is a master key that can unlock many of the agency's blue collection boxes in a single delivery and collection route.

"These arrow keys give access to collection boxes, apartment panels, relay boxes, cluster boxes. So instead of getting a few letters, they are actually getting tubs and satchels of mail," Albergo explained. According to new data from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), robberies and assaults against mail carriers are on the rise, with more than 2,000 attacks targeting workers since 2020.

In an Aug. 2020 report that was cited by the senators in their letter, the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that the Postal Service's management controls over its arrow keys ay hindi epektibo. "Partikular, ang bilang ng mga arrow key sa sirkulasyon ay hindi kilala, at ang mga lokal na yunit ay hindi sapat na nag -uulat na nawala, ninakaw, o nasira na mga susi o mapanatili ang mga pangunahing imbentaryo," ang ulat na nakasaad. "Dagdag pa, ang serbisyo ng postal ay hindi naghihigpitan sa bilang ng mga kapalit na mga susi ng arrow na maaaring mag -order."

Napagpasyahan ng OIG na ito ay isang pangunahing isyu sa seguridad dahil ang "hindi epektibo na mga kontrol sa mga arrow key ay nagdaragdag ng panganib na ang mga item na ito ay mawawala o ninakaw at hindi napansin." Sa kanilang liham, hinihingi ng mga Senador ang mga sagot mula sa USPS sa loob ng susunod na 30 araw hanggang sa maraming mga katanungan tungkol sa kaligtasan ng mail ng mga Amerikano. Kasama dito kung ano ang plano ng serbisyo ng postal upang mapagbuti ang mga mekanismo upang makilala at siyasatin ang mga nawala o ninakaw na mga susi, kung o hindi ang USPS ay nakilala ang mga pagkakataon ng mga carrier na nagbebenta ng mga susi, kung ano ang mga naunang hakbang na kinuha ng ahensya upang mapagbuti ang mga kontrol sa pamamahala, at plano upang mabawasan ang mail Pagnanakaw mula sa USPS Blue Collection Boxes.

"Ang pananalig na ito sa serbisyo ng postal sa isyung ito, pati na rin ang isang hanay ng mga isyu, ay kailangang maibalik," sinabi ni Casey sa NBC10. "Kapag nahihirapan kang kumita ng pera na ang mga tao ay lumabas at kumita araw -araw, at pagkatapos ay mayroon silang pera na ninakaw dahil sa ilang mga problema sa loob ng system, kung ang kawalan ng kakayahan na ma -secure ang mga asul na kahon ng koleksyon o kung iba pang mga problema sa mga ito kaya -Called Universal Keys, kailangan nating tiyakin na nakakakuha tayo ng mga sagot sa mga katanungang ito. "

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