Keep US Posted Urges Lawmakers to Strengthen Regulatory Oversight

Keep US Posted, a nonprofit advocacy group of consumers, nonprofits, newspapers, greeting card publishers, magazines, catalogs and small businesses, submitted a statement to the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations, which is holding another hearing amid concerns that USPS could reach insolvency by early next year. With today’s hearing featuring testimony from leaders of the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), the statement urged lawmakers to enhance the PRC’s mandate and power to make sure the Postal Service’s status quo of raising prices while cutting services does not continue — noting that the reforms of former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s Delivering for America plan have played a central role in diminishing mail volume and customers.

“While the Postal Service must be saved, now is not the time for another blank check,” said Yoder in his comments to the Subcommittee. “Congress must tie financial relief to stronger PRC oversight, including a CPI-based price cap and measurable cost controls, to keep USPS from squandering another effort to stabilize it. Even if Congress chooses to delay monetary aid, lawmakers should act now to enhance the PRC’s mandate and ability to ensure that USPS improves efficiency and cost discipline so that the PRC can steer the Postal Service back to solvency and minimize any ultimate financial assistance from taxpayers.”

“The Postal Service’s current fiscal crisis is a direct result of efforts by former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to dilute PRC oversight and pursue a failed agenda that USPS is, unfortunately, continuing to follow,” Yoder continued. “When DeJoy unveiled the 10-year Delivering for America plan in 2021, he projected USPS would break even by fiscal year 2023 thanks to aggressive, frequent rate increases, operational cost cuts and a pivot to packages over mail. Yet instead of breaking even, USPS has lost more than $30 billion since then—despite the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, which eliminated $120 billion in liabilities … Any agency that receives such massive financial and balance sheet aid, yet continues to lose money and forecasts insolvency only a few years later requires stronger supervision to meet the expectations of Congress and its customers.”

To ensure that “what has transpired under the Delivering for America plan can never happen again,” Keep US Posted urged Congress to enact legislation contained in H.R.3004, The USPS SERVES US Act:

• ACCESSIBILITY: Preserve the Universal Service Obligation requiring six-day mail and package delivery to every address.
• AFFORDABILITY: Limit rate hikes to once per year and keep them affordable for small businesses and consumers. A CPI-based price cap for Market Dominant products would require USPS to improve efficiency and live within its means. Any service reductions must be required to provide guaranteed savings.

• ACCOUNTABILITY: Strengthen the PRC’s oversight with binding authority over service changes and a dedicated customer advocate to ensure USPS improves efficiency and cost discipline to live within its means.

Source: Keep US Posted