New London — Though Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced Tuesday he is postponing postal service changes until after the election, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said “the postmaster general needs to continue to feel the heat” as seniors, veterans and others wait for medicines and checks in the mail.

Blumenthal delivered his message calling for continued action and additional funding for the U.S. Postal Service at a news conference Wednesday with Mayor Michael Passero across from the U.S. Post Office on Masonic Street.

Blumenthal said people across Connecticut have expressed anger and outrage as they went to post offices and found reduced hours, overtime eliminated, post office boxes removed and sorting machines decommissioned. He said his office alone has received 10,000 messages and emails.

“Across the state of Connecticut and the country, the postmaster general has launched a campaign to undermine service so as to suppress voting,” Blumenthal alleged, adding that the “not-so-hidden agenda” is to delay mail-in ballots.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced Tuesday that Connecticut was joining other states in filing a lawsuit against the changes to the postal service.

DeJoy issued a statement Tuesday that he is suspending initiatives until after the election. DeJoy said post office hours would not change, mail processing equipment and collection boxes would remain in place, mail processing facilities will remain open and overtime will be granted as necessary.

Blumenthal said "the heat on the postmaster general has forced him to back down" but he has lost credibility and “a lot of damage has already been done.”

“Those sorting machines have been taken out of post offices, the post office boxes have been removed, the mail has already been delayed and the collateral damage is not only to mail-in balloting but it’s to seniors who are waiting for their medicines, veterans waiting for their disability checks, Social Security recipients waiting for their benefits, small businesses waiting for their parts and components, as well as payments of their bills,” Blumenthal said.

DeJoy said in his statement that “the Postal Service is ready today to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives this fall. Even with the challenges of keeping our employees and customers safe and healthy as they operate amid a pandemic, we will deliver the nation's election mail on time and within our well-established service standard."

"I came to the Postal Service to make changes to secure the success of this organization and its long-term sustainability," DeJoy added. "I believe significant reforms are essential to that objective, and work toward those reforms will commence after the election. In the meantime, there are some longstanding operational initiatives — efforts that predate my arrival at the Postal Service — that have been raised as areas of concern as the nation prepares to hold an election in the midst of a devastating pandemic. To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded.”

Blumenthal called on Sen. Mitch McConnell to bring the Senate back into session to ensure $25 billion for the postal service, funding that Blumenthal said is critical for the service’s operations.

Passero said at Wednesday’s news conference that New London Human Services Director Jeanne Milstein has expressed concerns that issues with the postal service will mean delays of prescription drugs and checks for disabled people and senior citizens.

“There’s already a terrible burden on the population that’s in the city from this pandemic, and this is just more misery on top of misery for a city like New London, which is predominantly lower-income people,” Passero said. The average income in the city is about $40,000.

Blumenthal thanked the postal workers who have been working “day in and day out during the pandemic” and found their way around downed trees during Tropical Storm Isaias to deliver the mail.

“They are front-line workers who deserve our support, and they need the resources to do the job,” he said.

k.drelich@theday.com