Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says he is suspending USPS reforms until after the election; response from Kevin McCarthy, leader of the House Minority, to ‘Lou Dobbs Tonight’.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Tuesday announced a 10-year plan for the U.S. Postal Service that includes longer delivery times of the mail and shortening of working hours.
In his testimony on March 11, DeJoy announced during a hearing by House Financial Services that USPS would face $ 160 billion in debt over the next ten years.
“This is our path to financial sustainability and service excellence,” DeJoy told a news conference Tuesday, adding that he believes the federal agency can be financially adequate, but there is a growing concern about its sustainability.
He added that USPS lost $ 9.2 billion in 2020 alone amid the coronavirus pandemic, and that its liability costs exceed its assets by about $ 162 billion. If the USPS’s problems are not addressed immediately, the service will need a lifeline from the government.
In this image from the video, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified during a virtual hearing before the Senate Governing Committee on the U.S. Postal Service. (US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs via AP)
USPS hopes to work on the break-even point by 2023 under the restructuring plan, which took eight months to put together.
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The plan is aimed at “erasing” the service’s $ 160 billion debt, and it includes eliminating the mandate for health benefits to retired retirees by combining the requirement with Medicare, the postmaster general said.
This is also likely to result in longer waiting times for first-class mail delivery, higher postage rates and reduced service hours due to reduced delivery steps.
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However, retail and delivery officer Kristin Seaver explained on Tuesday that only 70% of first-class mail is affected by longer waiting times, while most other shipping options will be delivered on time after delivery.
A new platform “USPS Connect” is aimed at locating customers more easily.
A US postal worker delivers a delivery with gloves and a mask in Philadelphia on Thursday, April 2, 2020. (AP Photo / Matt Rourke)
More than 50 House Democrats sent a letter to President Biden on March 18 urging him to fire the six individuals sitting on the USPS Board of Governors, citing “gross mismanagement”, delays in delivery of mail and conflicts of interest within the entity.
“During the tenure of this Board of Governors, the Postal Service was blatantly abused by President Trump in an unsuccessful game to influence a presidential election. The Postal Service currently does not meet its own service standards with historically low rates for timely delivery., And conflicts of interest appear to be a requirement for service, ‘the group wrote.
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Republicans accused Democrats of politicizing the entity during and after the 2020 election, when questions about the delivery of the mail plagued the service, while millions of people submitted the absent ballots by mail before November 3rd.
USPS Chairman Ron Bloom on Tuesday expressed his concern that the USPS, without action from Congress, “will continue to deteriorate and that our civil service mission will be threatened.”
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The ten-year plan “will give the American people the postal service we deserve,” Bloom said, adding that “Congress must play an important role” in restructuring it with “legal relief.”
The chairman added that he hoped Congress would “fully integrate” the postal service retirement plan with Medicare.