POSTMASTER GENERAL CALLS FINANCIAL OUTLOOK DIRE
Agency plagued by delivery delays, controversial leadership
Washington — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told lawmakers Wednesday the U.S. Postal Service faces a “dire” financial outlook, as lawmakers considered reducing retiree health care costs to bolster the service plagued by slow delivery.
DeJoy, embattled since service plunged last summer ahead of an election that featured unprecedented volumes of mailed ballots, called the service’s congressionally imposed requirement to fund retiree health benefits decades in advance “unfair and unaffordable.”
Mail delivery hasn’t recovered from the drop in ontime delivery that began after DeJoy made changes such as cutting overtime and extra trips by trucks. The changes were put on hold in August but performance lagged, with first-class mail falling below 63% on-time delivery the week before Christmas, according to a document posted by the Oversight Committee.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated three postal experts to the governing board of the U.S. Postal Service, a move that could alter the course of an agency grappling with delivery delays and rumored cuts under its embattled Republican leader.
If confirmed by the Senate, the Board of Governors nominees would bring additional Democratic scrutiny on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major GOP donor whose tenure has been mired by slow service and politicization.
The nominees are Ron Stroman, a former deputy postmaster general; Amber McReynolds, a mail voting advocate who leads the nonprofit National Vote at Home Institute; and Anton Hajjar, the former general counsel of the American Postal Workers Union. A White House announcement of the move came just after a long and sometimes tense congressional hearing with DeJoy about the agency’s ailing financial health.
“President Biden is committed to the USPS’ success, and these experienced and tested leaders will ensure the USPS is running at the highest of service standards and that it can effectively and efficiently serve all communities in our country,” a White House statement read.
Democrats have been pressing Biden to nominate a slate of potential governors who could oust DeJoy. The six members who currently comprise the board were nominated by President Donald Trump. A spokesman for the Postal Service said it “will welcome all qualified members to the Board of Governors.”
DeJoy, a prominent supporter of Trump, has come under heavy criticism for a series of operational changes that slowed mail before the 2020 elections. The policy shifts fueled fears that DeJoy was attempting to sabotage the agency on the behalf of Trump, a vocal critic of mail voting, before it handled unprecedented numbers of mail-in ballots. Despite the worries, the agency said, it delivered more than 99% of ballots within five days.
After the election, the Postal Service again came into the spotlight as it struggled to handle the holiday season surge of packages and mail, leading to additional condemnation. DeJoy and other postal leaders have acknowledged and pledged to attend to the delays, saying the agency fell short of expectations.