Kucinich Calls For A Halt To New House Mail Procedures Over Privacy and Outsourcing Concerns
New Procedures Require All Inbound Mail To Be Opened, Removed And Inspected By Private Company Before Reaching Congressional Offices
Washington,
Feb 18, 2004 -
Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) sent a letter last night to the House Sergeant Arms and the Chief Administrative Officer of the House asking them to suspend new mail procedures, set to be put in place for all House mail, until serious questions about privacy and outsourcing can be answered.
Currently, all first class mail delivered to the House is subject to an inspection process following an irradiation treatment by the US Postal Service. During inspection, a corner of each envelope is cut, sampled for various substances, and then held in quarantine until test results qualify the letter as safe.
But, late last week in a communication from the House Sergeant at Arms and the House Chief Administrative Officer to Members of Congress, a new mail procedure was outlined in which all inbound mail to House offices will opened, inspected, and resealed by a private company at in off-site location before reaching Members’ offices.
In his letter Kucinich states:
“I believe these new procedures fundamentally damage the integrity of the chain of communication between constituents and Members of Congress. When a letter is mailed by a constituent to his or her Representative, there is a reasonable and justified expectation that the letter itself will not be taken from the envelope and potentially viewed and read - intentionally or not - by anonymous parties other than the Member or the Member’s paid personal staff. Indeed, constituents and others writing to Congress have a right to know that the thoughts and ideas expressed in a letter are private and will be read only by the intended recipient.
“The harm associated with this serious loss of expected and necessary privacy is exacerbated if the task of opening and testing letters is outsourced to a private corporation - an entity primarily and perhaps solely accountable to a financial interest. The United States government, in contrast, is accountable only to the American people. As the current mail processes are in fact outsourced, my concerns on this matter are greatly heightened. Your letter to Members was silent on this critical issue, and I believe it must be addressed in detail before any “enhanced” safety procedures are seriously considered.
“The ability of constituents to efficiently and confidentially communicate with their elected officials remains a fundamental pillar of our democracy. While I certainly understand the importance of ensuring that mail sent to the House of Representatives is safe, the implicit privacy of a sealed letter is both a sacred and vital imperative.
“I respectfully ask that plans to implement the new mailing procedures be halted until these privacy concerns, with a special emphasis on the implications of outsourcing, are adequately addressed.”
