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Every federal legislator in Missouri and Illinois who represents some part of the St. Louis region has logged complaints about mail delivery. Now, one local lawmaker has joined with colleagues around the nation to voice their dissatisfaction.

U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, Illinois, is part of a bipartisan House caucus that aims to improve on-time delivery rates, stop facility consolidations that reduce access in rural and underserved areas, and protect postal workers.

Other members of the caucus include Republicans Andrew Garbarino of New York and Jack Bergman of New Hampshire and Democrat Chris Pappas of Michigan.

Budzinski said, “Rural communities like the ones I represent in central and Southern Illinois have faced lagging delivery rates, facility closures, and neglect from the top leadership from USPS."

In the last 16 months, area lawmakers have lined up to lambast the St. Louis area's postal service.

The griping began in earnest in early 2024, when U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley and then-U.S. Rep. Cori Bush wrote to then-Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to complain about shoddy mail service.

Then in September, four Republican members of Missouri’s U.S. House delegation, whose districts cover St. Louis, complained about postal service.

U.S. Reps. Ann Wagner, Town and Country; Jason Smith, Salem; (now-retired) Blaine Luetkemeyer, St. Elizabeth; and Sam Graves, Tarkio, asked for major changes to fix “unreliable mail service in eastern Missouri.�

The letter specifically asked the Postal Service to audit the mail sorting and distribution center in Hazelwood.

Only one week after the Missouri House quartet complained, Budzinski joined 18 other lawmakers to ask the post office to reconsider a plan the rural-delivery changes.

This year, in April, U.S. Sens. Hawley and Eric Schmitt sent a letter that repeated the request for an audit of the St. Louis operations. Newly elected Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Onder of Lake Saint Louis signed onto that missive.

And let's not leave out Illinois' two Democratic U.S. senators, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, who in the last six months have added their names to letters questioning the Postal Service’s performance and planning.

Finally, U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, a Republican whose district includes Monroe County and part of St. Clair County in Illinois, sent a letter last month asking for an audit of the Hazelwood center.