Blumenthal Urges USPS Action to Ensure Servicemembers Overseas Can Receive Holiday Packages

[Hartford, CT] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal today wrote to the U.S. Postal Service urging swift action to establish and publicly share clear guidance about how holiday packages should be labeled and shipped to servicemembers overseas this holiday season.

In a letter to Postmaster General David Steiner, Blumenthal raises the case of Boxes to Boots Connecticut which had 844 of their 1139 holiday care packages for troops overseas inexplicably returned. Additionally, more than 100 packages are simply missing. USPS has yet to locate the missing packages or provide an explanation to the organization for why the packages were returned.

“It has been a time-honored tradition for families and advocates to send holiday packages to our nation’s military personnel deployed overseas. The men and women who serve our country in uniform are often away from family and friends during the holidays, and these packages have meaning and impact far beyond their contents. USPS must do right by our servicemembers by providing their families and advocates with a seamless, clear process for sending holiday packages—all of which are sent to an APO address,” Blumenthal wrote.

In addition to calling on USPS to publicly disseminate clear guidance and contact information for military families and organizations who are encountering similar obstacles, Blumenthal has asked for a USPS representative to directly contact Kristen Gauvin at Boxes to Boots Connecticut to resolve their issues and ensure the organization can deliver their care packages before the holidays.

A full copy of Blumenthal’s letter is available below and here:

December 7, 2025

David Steiner

Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer

USPS

475 L'Enfant Plaza SW

Washington, DC 20260-2200

Dear Mr. Steiner:

I strongly urge you and the United States Postal Service (USPS) to take immediate action to ensure that our servicemembers deployed overseas are able to receive and enjoy their holiday packages. Specifically, I request that USPS establish and disseminate clear guidance about how the contents of such packages should be labeled and provide a point of contact who can assist military family and advocacy groups to ensure the prompt delivery of their holiday packages.

According to Boxes for Boots’s Connecticut representative, Kristen Gauvin, 1139 holiday packages—all with similar labels—were clearly labeled in accordance with newly adopted USPS regulations, yet 844 of these packages were returned and more than 100 are missing. Despite Ms. Gauvin’s efforts to obtain guidance from USPS, no one has been able to explain why these 844 packages were returned and what the correct description and tariff code should be so that these packages can be quickly shipped and received before the holidays.

It has been a time-honored tradition for families and advocates to send holiday packages to our nation’s military personnel deployed overseas. The men and women who serve our country in uniform are often away from family and friends during the holidays, and these packages have meaning and impact far beyond their contents. USPS must do right by our servicemembers by providing their families and advocates with a seamless, clear process for sending holiday packages—all of which are sent to an APO address.

With the holidays rapidly approaching, time is of the essence; I request that you or a knowledgeable USPS representative contact Kristen Gauvin at 860-539-6391 as soon as possible to address this urgent matter. In addition, I request that you publicly disseminate clear guidance and contact information for other military families and advocates who may be encountering similar obstacles.

If you have any additional questions, please contact me or my State Director Rich Kehoe at (860) 258-6940.

Sincerely,

Richard Blumenthal

United States Senator

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