Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Earlier today, my colleagues on the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee and I held a hearing on proposed legislation to rectify the financial challenges and inexcusable performance of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
I have heard from many of you who have been emotionally, physically, and financially impacted by the collapse of the mail service since Postmaster General Louis Dejoy was appointed to his role last year. Your stories of empty mailboxes, late medications, and missed payments resulting in late fees are disheartening and the responses from USPS leadership have been unacceptable.
During my exchange with Postmaster Dejoy today, I told him about your experiences and detailed the devastating impacts the disassembling of sorting machines, removal of mailboxes, and the denial of postal workers' overtime requests are having on our mail service. I was also abundantly clear that the mail service delays are attributable to him and management of USPS. I also told him his "empty words" have lead to "empty mailboxes."
I believe the hardworking women and men of the postal service deserve more from the leadership of USPS. The unconscionable delays are attributed to arbitrary decisions by management. We owe it to ourselves to pass meaningful legislation to ensure USPS can resolve its financial instability and restore the service standards our communities expect and deserve.
That is why we are taking action. I have joined the Oversight Committee in proposing various legislative reforms to help relieve USPS of its financial strain and increase the agency's transparency. The proposals include:
● Requiring the Postal Service to set targets for service performance and to report on its progress. Committee Members hope additional monitoring will increase the Postal Service's transparency and accountability to the American people.
● Requiring postal employees to enroll in Medicare when they become eligible. This is estimated to save USPS roughly $10 billion over a ten-year period.
● Repealing the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act also known as PAEA (a requirement for the Postal Service to pre-fund retiree health care). Eliminating this requirement would eventually eliminate the Postal Service's $35 billion debt liability.
Thank you for all you do.