In response to the ongoing mail delivery problems in the region, the Register reached out to U.S Rep. Chellie Pingree’s Portland office Dec. 11 and was recently able to talk to the congresswoman about the issue.    

According to Pingree, her office has been getting an influx of calls from across the state for the past year concerning problems at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). While some callers identified region-specific issues, other concerns were more systemic, such as an often-cited disruption in paper mail delivery.  

“There's been reorganization nationally, and I think many of the post offices have been restructured to a certain extent to put a priority on packages, because there's more revenue there than the daily mail,” Pingree said.  

In 2021, the USPS introduced its 10-year “Delivering for America” plan, which identified one of its goals as financial stability, with initiatives “designed to reverse a projected $160 billion in losses,” per the Service's website. Last year, then-Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced plans to further decrease spending and cut 10,000 jobs with an early retirement program. About 10,500 employees took the offer as of August 2025, according to Federal News Network.  

“(There is) just an overall downsizing of the postal service ... so less hours, less staffing overall, which leaves less personnel time to get the work done,” said Pingree. She acknowledged that many offices have had trouble hiring and retaining staff, although she is unsure why.  

Pingree also believes some systemic issues are a byproduct of the Trump administration's attitude towards the institution: “They're trying to turn it into a money-making operation, not a service that the American government provides people, that should be run for the benefit of people who need to receive their mail daily.” 

The congresswoman wonders if an ideological desire to eventually privatize the postal service is causing the administration to not invest in the current system working well. She explained, “(They’re) almost trying to make the case ... that's like, ‘Oh, it doesn't work very well. Let's privatize it. Let's turn it over to UPS or FedEx, you know, give it away.’” 

As reported in the Register, concerns over privatization brought protestors to the Boothbay Harbor, Boothbay and Edgecomb post offices last March. Flyers provided by the American Postal Workers Union outlined possible consequences, including ending reliable mail delivery to rural areas, increasing mailing costs and cutting 600,000 union jobs. 

In 2023, Pingree, fellow Rep. Jared Golden, and U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King called on DeJoy to address deficiencies found in USPS operations in Maine.  Pingree said her colleagues and she are still working to make the postal service work for Mainers. 

 “We've tried to put language in every appropriations bill, or use any vehicle that we can to push them to be more service-oriented.” 

In the meantime, Pingree encourages her constituents to keep speaking up by calling their state representatives and their local post office. “The mail is just fundamental. It's one of the things you want your government to get right.”