Trump-backed postmaster general plans to slow mail delivery

[lpetrich]

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Today, @RepAOC voted 'yes' on the ‘Delivering for America Act,’ which requires the Postal Service to treat election mail as first call priority and provides $25 billion in emergency funding. https://t.co/1CSJmxYV59" / Twitter
noting
House passes bill to reverse Postal Service changes, infuse $25B in emergency funds - "The rare Saturday session in August comes amid a national uproar over mail interference."

The vote passed 257-150 in the Democratic-controlled House, earning some support from Republicans who expressed concerns about delayed mail. The bill is likely to meet significant opposition in the GOP-led Senate.

The rare Saturday session in August comes amid a national uproar over mail interference, putting the Postal Service and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy at the center of an unprecedented election year. The House will recess again until next month.

...
During a congressional testimony Friday, DeJoy said he would not restore the cuts that have already been made and was unable to provide senators with a plan for how he will handle the influx of mail-in ballots this November. He also would not say whether he did an analysis of how his policy changes would affect veterans, the elderly or families who send financial documents by mail.

...
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., signaled distaste for the House bill in a tweet just minutes after the vote.

"House Democrats have spent weeks ignoring the urgent needs of American workers and families, but they rushed back to Washington the instant that overblown conspiracy theories about the U.S. Postal Service convinced them their own jobs might be in jeopardy," he tweeted.

...
DeJoy, a major GOP donor, is the first postmaster in 20 years with no experience at the agency. He previously owned a logistics business that was a longtime Postal Service contractor.

 

[lpetrich]

Oversight Committee on Twitter: "#BREAKING Chair @RepMaloney released new internal @USPS docs warning PMG DeJoy about steep declines & increasing delays caused by his drastic operational & organizational changes - this shows nationwide delays are far WORSE than previously acknowledged. https://t.co/3E8HboRSy6" / Twitter
noting
New Postal Service Documents Show Nationwide Delays Far Worse Than Postal Service Has Acknowledged | House Committee on Oversight and Reform

“After being confronted on Friday with first-hand reports of delays across the country, the Postmaster General finally acknowledged a ‘dip’ in service, but he has never publicly disclosed the full extent of the alarming nationwide delays caused by his actions and described in these new documents,” said Chairwoman Maloney. “To those who still claim there are ‘no delays’ and that these reports are just ‘conspiracy theories,’ I hope this new data causes them to re-think their position and support our urgent legislation today. We have all seen the headlines from every corner of our country, we have read the stories and seen pictures, we have heard directly from our constituents, and these new documents show that the delays are far worse than we were told.”

...
Instead, the Postmaster General acknowledged in testimony on Friday before the Senate only: “We all feel bad about what the dip in the level of service has been.” DeJoy and Postal Service leadership have also downplayed the delays as “temporary service impacts” and “unintended consequences.”


On Friday, the top Republican on the Oversight Committee, Rep. James Comer, testified repeatedly before the House Rules Committee that there are “no delays” with the mail and “no data” proving the delays are real.


Two days earlier, Comer and House Republican leaders Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise sent a letter to Chairwoman Maloney and Speaker Nancy Pelosi arguing that nationwide reports of delays are nothing but “conspiracy theories” being “manufactured” by Democrats to “undermine President Trump” and support “an unnecessary bailout plan.”

Let's see what happens on Monday.

 

[lpetrich]

Washington Postal Workers Defy USPS Orders And Reinstall Mail Sorting Machines

Postal workers in Washington State have reinstalled high-speed mail sorting machines—dismantled after controversial orders from the U.S. Postal Service— despite USPS orders not to put machines back in use.

• After embattled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced he would pause recent controversial changes to U.S. Postal Service protocol, the service told workers not to reinstall removed equipment.
• 40 percent of the high-speed mail sorting machines in the Seattle-Tacoma area were disconnected or dismantled since the changes went into effect, according to KUOW Public Radio in Seattle, with workers in the Tacoma, Washington sorting plant saying eight of their 18 machines that sort and postmark letters were disconnected and pushed into a corner.
• A sorting machine in Wenatchee, Washington was also reconnected, against the orders of the Postal Service’s head of maintenance, Kevin Couch.
• Only two facilities, Seattle-Tacoma and one in Dallas, seem to be ignoring the Postal Service’s directive to leave decommissioned sorting machines out of use.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez on Instagram: “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questions Postmaster DeJoy
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez questioned the Postmaster General as part of a committee hearing on widespread postal service delivery delays. The Congresswoman specifically inquired about the Postmaster’s potential conflict of interest with his significant financial stake in a USPS competitor. She also pressed Postmaster DeJoy to increase accessibility at a post office in Jackson Heights, Queens.”

Justice Democrats on Instagram: ““Ayanna Pressley, USPS Hearing
“Mr. DeJoy, the hardworking people of the United States Postal Service deserve a better leader. The only thing you should be delivering is your resignation.” -@ayannapressley

Rep. Katie Porter on Instagram: “It's bad enough the Postmaster General doesn't know the basics of his agency. But to laugh off his ignorance?
This isn't a joke for the millions of Americans who rely on USPS.

 

[lpetrich]

Public Citizen on Twitter: ".@AOC is pressuring Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to release his calendar to the Oversight Committee. If he refuses, she recommends a subpoena. https://t.co/Xvc97KL7nz" / Twitter

Alfredo on Twitter: "@Public_Citizen @AOC I love AOC's participations in congress hearings. Its like watching a psy thriller movie unfolding with a cool plot twist at the end. They're always scared of answering her aparently innocuous questions. Well done AOC!" / Twitter


Robert Reich on Twitter: "Rep. Ocasio-Cortez just urged Postmaster DeJoy to install a wheelchair ramp in the Jackson Heights USPS.
In @AOC's America, no one is left behind. https://t.co/kqD4oVoJi7" / Twitter

Screeching to the Choir on Twitter: "@RBReich @AOC While I may not agree with every policy she supports, AOC is:
1. Respectful
2. Kind
3 Does her homework, which is more than we can say of DeJoy." / Twitter

Kha Lu on Twitter: "@JTirades @RBReich @AOC I especially love her ability to detect a potential waste of time when questions are given the runabout answers. Love it when she cuts those short with a simple, "OK, moving on to my next question" instead of pushing. Cuts the airtime given to BS answers." / Twitter

FartKilometre on Twitter: "@JTirades @RBReich @AOC One thing everyone can credit her with is that when she is asking questions, she doesn't let anyone have room to give out a non-answer. Its incredibly telling to watch officials squirm when asked directly about something" / Twitter


Kristen Clarke on Twitter: ".@AOC pressing a reluctant Louis DeJoy to turn over his calendar to ethics officials so it can be screened for conflicts of interest. She also gets DeJoy to concede that he probably has been in contact with officials/friends at XPO since starting at #USPS
DeJoy: I'm new to this. https://t.co/ucIegjFadq" / Twitter

couchpundit on Twitter: "@KristenClarkeJD @AOC @RepAOC Appreciate @AOC's non-confrontational approach to this witness. The precise questions, facts, and procedures do all the work for her. Surgical precision. Straight to the salient points. No drama, no partisan theater, just professionalism & competency. Well done, ma'am." / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Postmaster General DeJoy denies political influence as House questions mail delays

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy denied Monday that policies he implemented led to the current mail delays, insisting that many changes, including the removal of blue collection boxes and mail sorting machines, preceded his assuming office June 15.

In heated exchanges with Democrats as he testified before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, DeJoy grew increasingly defensive, saying all he had done was to reshuffle the organization and try to have the U.S. Postal Service's trucks run on schedule.

Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., presented an internal Postal Service document, which appeared to have been prepared for DeJoy on Aug. 12, that showed an 8 percent to 10 percent drop in on-time mail deliveries since early July.

She emphasized that DeJoy, a former logistics executive, was in charge during the drop in service, but he refused to take sole responsibility for the slowdown.

...
Cooper also led a series of heated questions that rankled DeJoy, focusing on his political history as a Republican fundraiser and donor to Donald Trump.

...
DeJoy also said he would not release his background check, as Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., asked about how his private investments overlapped with the Postal Service's direction. DeJoy said Raskin could read the Postal Service Office of the Inspector General's report once it had finished its probe into his actions and business dealings.

I don't like how Rep. Lynch got overheated. I like AOC's calm, businesslike demeanor.

Steadman™ on Twitter: "She told him to prepare and everything" / Twitter
noting
Allan Smith on Twitter: "Louis DeJoy tells Rep. Katie Porter he does not know the cost of mailing a postcard" / Twitter

D.D. Havana Nights! on Twitter: "@AsteadWesley @AOC His excuse for slowing the mail is to save money, but he doesn’t even know the cost of base level transactions.
If his restructuring of the post office wasn’t for voter suppression, I’d love to see the math behind the choices made." / Twitter

Rusty Cannon on Twitter: "@dirtydancing2HN @AsteadWesley @AOC Oh, I think voter suppression is a “side benefit” they hadn’t even thought about. Their primary goal is to ruin the postal service and make it so dysfunctional, that people won’t be able to rely on it. That will be the end of it and private interests can buy up the pieces." / Twitter

It's like the classic example of chutzpah: to kill one's parents and then to beg for mercy because one is an orphan.

 

[lpetrich]

Kyle Griffin on Twitter: ". @AOC: Can we get a commitment from you to submit your calendar dating back to June 16 to this committee?
DEJOY: I don't know. I'll check with counsel. I don't want to set a precedent.
..
AOC: If we cannot receive them voluntarily, I would recommend consideration of a subpoena." / Twitter

Clear Cider on Twitter: "@kylegriffin1 @AOC #USPS #USPSHearing #DeJoy
Katie Porter delivers.
(link)" / Twitter
With some video of KP asking DeJoy questions about how much postcard postage is, how many people voted by mail in the last presidential election, etc.

Vanita Gupta on Twitter: "WATCH: @AOC asked DeJoy if he'd commit to releasing his calendars.
USPS recently rejected @weareoversight's FOIA request for DeJoy’s calendars, saying the calendars “maintained on a USPS computer” were for DeJoy’s personal use and couldn't be FOIA'd. (links)" / Twitter

Melody Copp on Twitter: "@vanitaguptaCR @AOC @weareoversight @AOC is excellent ! I love how she compliments and is neutral...then sweeps in for the killer question/request ! Like a raptor lofting above before diving in..." / Twitter

Crystal L. Harris on Twitter: "@aqua8grll @vanitaguptaCR @AOC @weareoversight “Kill them with kindness”; masterfully done and totally effective. #aocforpresident2032" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Kyle Griffin on Twitter: "Rep. Katie Porter on questioning Louis DeJoy: "He is a difficult witness ... This is somebody who spent a lot of his career as a CEO evading responsibility. So I have spent a lot of time this week and last week, this morning preparing ... and I'm excited to get answers." @MSNBC" / Twitter

Matt Wilstein on Twitter: "Here is Katie Porter’s full five-minute questioning of Louis DeJoy in all its glory. https://t.co/gYcwWW77CO" / Twitter
notes
Rep. Katie Porter Grills Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Basic Facts About the Post Office

The congresswoman’s first question seemed like a softball. “What is the cost of a first-class postage stamp?” she asked. DeJoy got that one right by answering $0.55, but it went downhill fast from there.

He didn’t know how much it cost to send a postcard or a square envelope. Laughing uncomfortably, DeJoy admitted, “I will submit that I know very little about postage and stamps.”

After some more such questions, KP asked “Do you know, about within a million or so, can you tell me how many people voted by mail in the last presidential election?” LDJ had no idea. She then asked him “to the nearest 10 million.” He responded “I would be guessing and I don’t want to guess.”

KP: “OK, so Mr. DeJoy, I am concerned. I’m glad you know the price of a stamp, but I am concerned about your understanding of this agency. And I am particularly concerned about it because you started taking very decisive action when you became postmaster general. You started directing the unplugging and destroying of machines, changing of employee procedures, and locking of collection boxes.”

After another contentious exchange, LDJ: “The plans were in effect and being implemented before I arrived.”

KP: “But Mr. DeJoy, do you take responsibility for these changes?”

LDJ: “I take responsibility from the day I sat in the seat for any service deterioration that has occurred,” he said. Though he refused to commit to reversing these changes.

“You don’t think there's any reason that you should ever resign?” Porter asked.

“No reason that I’ve heard here today,” he answered.

He seems like a total nincompoop, seemingly not knowing much about his job.

 

[lpetrich]

Schooley on Twitter: "I wish Rep. Porter could give a boot camp to other committee members on asking smart questions not giving dumb speeches." / Twitter

BrickmanInGA on Twitter: "@Rschooley It always turns into preening and showing off to create campaign sound bites. I want to see AOC or Katie Porter run the board." / Twitter

Otis Redfoot on Twitter: "@Rschooley How does a committee work, can they just yield their time to Rep Porter? Also I find it funny that half these committees are lawyers who just suck at asking questions but the Professor is amazing at it." / Twitter

NotOneOfThoseKarens on Twitter: "@Traitor_Warrior @JamesComer @USPS Katie Porter could have gone at DeJoy all day long. And AOC, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley all great. I just had to mute all the whining and complaining Repubs. That's all they've got. Bleah." / Twitter

John Panzer on Twitter: "@Delavegalaw @waltshaub They could alternatively just all yield to Katie Porter (or AOC). And we can mute when Jordan gets all shouty.
Why don’t they all have prosecutors write their prepared questions?" / Twitter

@dwarftrouble on Twitter: "Uh yeah!
I'd go for @danielsgoldman, @RepKatiePorter, @AOC and maybe @RepRaskin.
Not more than four.
(And a mute button for Gym.)" / Twitter

Rachel King Batson on Twitter: "Watching the DeJoy hearing on mute until @AOC & @RepKatiePorter go on bc my menta health." / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

'Squad' member Ayanna Pressley TRASHES Republicans on House floor - YouTube

"How dare you refer to this as a sham bill -- the only sham here is the patriotism that you allege to espouse while you stand idly by and are complicit in the dismantling of the United States Postal Service."

Rep. Ayanna Pressley shamed Republicans during remarks on the House floor on Saturday amid a vote on Post Office legislation.

 

[ZiprHead]

New mail sorting machine at Grand Junction USPS annex thrown out

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — A KREX 5/Fox 4 viewer noticed something interesting being thrown out at a local United States Postal Service Distribution Center Friday.

That viewer says she went to the USPS sorting annex on Patterson Road and Burkey Street Monday morning when she noticed a red dumpster by the loading docks.

When that person asked the clerk what was being thrown out, the clerk said its a brand new mail sorting machine.

The clerk added, “it took two months to set up and they were just about to do a test run when the postmaster general ordered us to take it out, now we’re sorting by hand. No wonder they say we’re losing money when they throw out expensive machines like that.”

We spoke with a postal manager at the Downtown Grand Junction office, who said he couldn’t comment on the matter. We also reached out to the agency’s Denver branch, but have not heard back.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC Questions Postal Service's 'Surprised' Response to Congressional Subpoena

Shortly after the House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy with another deadline to submit documents related to operational changes at the United States Postal Service (USPS), the federal agency responded in a statement that expressed both surprise and confusion about the order's motivation.

...
The Oversight Committee initially requested documents from the postmaster general "regarding widespread delays across the country in may, medications, and other critical supplies, as well as potential delays for election mail in November," in addition to others containing correspondence between DeJoy and President Donald Trump.

The request provided DeJoy with a deadline, which passed on Wednesday, August 26. During the hearing two days prior, both Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the committee, shared intentions to subpoena documents from the postmaster general if he did not comply.

...
"This past Friday evening, August 28, two days after this deadline [to submit requested documents], Mr. DeJoy sent a letter to the Committee stating: 'I trust my August 24 testimony before the Committee on Oversight and Reform clarified any outstanding questions you had,'" Maloney stated in the memo. "He has not produced a single additional document since the House and Senate hearings were held despite multiple conversations between Committee staff and Mr. DeJoy's office over the past week."

...
"We remain surprised and confused by Chairwoman Maloney's insistence on issuing a subpoena to the Postal Service in the midst of ongoing dialogue with her staff on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to produce information in an orderly fashion," the statement read. "We fully intend to comply with our obligations under the law."

A couple of days earlier, Oversight panel set to subpoena DeJoy amid clash over Postal Service - POLITICO

 

[lpetrich]

Geoff Bennett on Twitter: "New from #USPS on @OversightDems subpoena for docs: "We remain surprised and confused by Chairwoman Maloney’s insistence on issuing a subpoena to the Postal Service in the midst of ongoing dialogue with her staff ... We fully intend to comply with our obligations under the law."" / Twitter
then
𝕄𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕪𝔾𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕕 on Twitter: "@GeoffRBennett @OversightDems I watched the hearings live on C-Span. DeJoy was informed, asked for the items and they are feigning surprise. Do your duty DeJoy and turn over the requested documents. Stop stonewalling oversight. Your actions affect millions of Americans." / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "If the USPS is surprised we are issuing a subpoena, it’s because they weren’t listening.
I said directly in the hearing that if DeJoy didn’t quickly hand over documents, we should issue a subpoena.
They knew the consequences of stalling. Now, where‘s his unaltered calendar?" / Twitter


Public Citizen on Twitter: "Here's @AOC suggesting lawmakers subpoena Postmaster General Louis DeJoy over possible conflicts of interest. A subpoena was just issued by the House Oversight Committee. https://t.co/Fjf0MOHvXv" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Done " / Twitter

Let's see what comes of that. I'm guessing that the Trump Admin is going to do a lot of foot-dragging and obstructionism.

 

[lpetrich]

Postmaster Reassures State Officials About Voting By Mail : NPR

In a call that included a number of "tense moments," Postmaster General Louis DeJoy sought to reassure a group of the nation's top election officials Thursday that election mail will be his agency's highest priority this fall, according to one state election official on the call.

Specifically, DeJoy told the officials that his agency was undertaking a public information campaign to explain to voters that the U.S. Postal Service is equipped to handle the expected increase in mail volume that comes during election season, according to New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who leads the National Association of Secretaries of State, which organized the call.

Federal judge temporarily blocks USPS policy changes nationwide - CNNPolitics

"Although not necessarily apparent on the surface, at the heart of DeJoy's and the Postal Service's actions is voter disenfranchisement," Bastian wrote. "This is evident in President Trump's highly partisan words and tweets, the actual impact of the changes on primary elections that resulted in uncounted ballots, and recent attempts and lawsuits by the Republican National Committee and President Trump's campaign to stop the States' efforts to bypass the Postal Service by utilizing ballot drop boxes, as well as the timing of the changes.

"It is easy to conclude that the recent Postal Services' changes is an intentional effort on the part of the current Administration to disrupt and challenge the legitimacy of upcoming local, state, and federal elections, especially given that 72% of the ... high speed mail sorting machines that were decommissioned were located in counties where Hillary Clinton received the most votes in 2016."

That's very telling -- sabotage the post offices in heavily Democratic areas, so that Republican votes can be counted more easily than Democratic ones.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Postmaster Reassures State Officials About Voting By Mail : NPR

In a call that included a number of "tense moments," Postmaster General Louis DeJoy sought to reassure a group of the nation's top election officials Thursday that election mail will be his agency's highest priority this fall, according to one state election official on the call.

Specifically, DeJoy told the officials that his agency was undertaking a public information campaign to explain to voters that the U.S. Postal Service is equipped to handle the expected increase in mail volume that comes during election season, according to New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who leads the National Association of Secretaries of State, which organized the call.

Federal judge temporarily blocks USPS policy changes nationwide - CNNPolitics

"Although not necessarily apparent on the surface, at the heart of DeJoy's and the Postal Service's actions is voter disenfranchisement," Bastian wrote. "This is evident in President Trump's highly partisan words and tweets, the actual impact of the changes on primary elections that resulted in uncounted ballots, and recent attempts and lawsuits by the Republican National Committee and President Trump's campaign to stop the States' efforts to bypass the Postal Service by utilizing ballot drop boxes, as well as the timing of the changes.

"It is easy to conclude that the recent Postal Services' changes is an intentional effort on the part of the current Administration to disrupt and challenge the legitimacy of upcoming local, state, and federal elections, especially given that 72% of the ... high speed mail sorting machines that were decommissioned were located in counties where Hillary Clinton received the most votes in 2016."

That's very telling -- sabotage the post offices in heavily Democratic areas, so that Republican votes can be counted more easily than Democratic ones.

It's not telling. Big sorting machines are primarily in big areas. Big areas generally vote Democrat.

While I do agree they are trying to fuck up the post office I'm not at all convinced they are actually targeting Democrats and not just vote-by-mail in general. The polls show those who plan to vote by mail are a lot bluer than those who plan to vote in person.

 

[lpetrich]

USPS Finally Releases Louis DeJoy’s Calendar — And Everything’s Redacted | HuffPost - "The agency pretended to release the postmaster general’s calendar in a lawsuit looking to get to the bottom of mail slowdowns ahead of the election."

But the calendar released Tuesday is almost entirely redacted. From June 15 to Nov. 7, DeJoy held more than 450 meetings and conference calls, his electronic calendar says. But the agency’s Freedom of Information Act office blacked out nearly every word beyond references to dates and times. Only a handful of recurring words escaped redaction: “meeting,” “teleconference,” “prep for all hands,” “in office” and “RTP” (an abbreviation for “Read, Think, Plan”).

The calendar, disclosed in an ongoing lawsuit brought by liberal legal group American Oversight, does not specify on the document why the appointments were redacted. Though redactions to documents released through FOIA are common, the agency must cite specific exemptions detailed in the law.

An accompanying letter says that the withheld portions concerned trade secrets, privileged interagency communications, and personnel records that would raise privacy concerns.

“Shrouding his calendar in secrecy likely violates the letter of the law, and certainly violates its spirit,” Austin Evers, the executive director of American Oversight, wrote in an email to HuffPost. “DeJoy works for the public, but you wouldn’t know it from his calendar. Even in the Trump era, this is an extraordinary level of obfuscation.”

George Zornick on Twitter: "After being sued in federal court, and after pressure from @AOC and other House Democrats, the USPS has finally released Louis DeJoy's calendar......and it's almost completely redacted. https://t.co/8GrqdaZgH4" / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Yeaaaah that’s not gonna work" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Biden inherited a USPS crisis. Here’s how Democrats want to fix it. - Washington Post - "Party leaders have already begun discussions on
major legislation — and trying to force out Louis DeJoy"

The nation’s mail service is slower and more erratic than it’s been in generations, via the confluence of an abrupt reorganization and pandemic-era anomalies that has fueled demands for reform and fundamentally different ideas on how to achieve it.

On one side is Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who, with the backing of the U.S. Postal Service’s governing board, is expected as soon as next week to outline a new vision for the agency, one that includes more service cuts, higher and region-specific pricing, and lower delivery expectations.

But congressional Democrats are pressing President Biden to install new board members, creating a majority bloc that could oust DeJoy, a Trump loyalist whose aggressive cost-cutting over the summer has been singled out for much of the performance decline. The fight over the agency’s future is expected to be fraught and protracted, leaving Americans with unreliable mail delivery for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, customers are fuming on social media and to postal workers about late holiday packages and days-long delivery gaps. Only 38 percent of nonlocal first-class mail arrived on time in late December, compared with 92 percent in the year-ago period, according to data reported in federal voting lawsuits. The agency has not disclosed performance data in 2021.

It'll take a lot of work to clean up that mess. Part of that work will be to install new sorting machines.

 

[lpetrich]

A year later, and no success in forcing out Louis DeJoy.

But on a more positive note, legislation has been passed to assist the USPS, legislation that is now on President Biden's desk.

USPS reform: Senate passes sweeping bipartisan bill overhauling the US Postal Service - CNNPolitics

The Postal Service Reform Act -- which cleared the House last month by 342-92 -- would require retired postal employees to enroll in Medicare when eligible, while dropping a previous mandate that forced the agency to cover its health care costs years in advance. Those two measures would save the USPS nearly $50 billion over the next decade, according to the House Oversight Committee. The legislation would also require the USPS to create an online dashboard with local and national delivery time data.

Ahead of the vote on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer touted that once the legislation passes, postal reform will finally be "signed, sealed and delivered for the American people."

USPS reform act 2022: What the overhaul bill means for you - CNNPolitics

House passes sweeping bipartisan USPS reform bill - CNNPolitics

Unlike other government agencies, the USPS generally does not receive taxpayer funding, and instead must rely on revenue from stamps and package deliveries to support itself.

And unlike private courier services such as UPS and FedEx, the USPS does not get to set its own prices or excise unprofitable routes. Instead, Congress sets the postage rate and stipulates that the Postal Service delivers to all homes in America -- including a remote community in the Grand Canyon, where the mail is delivered by mule.

Removing the requirement of advance funding thus removes a big burden from the USPS.

 

[lpetrich]

U.S. Postal Service Applauds Senate Passage of Postal Service Reform Act - Newsroom - About.usps.com - from the USPS itself

As passed by the House and Senate, the key elements of the Postal Service Reform Act are that it eliminates the unfair, outdated, and burdensome retiree health benefit prefunding requirement, and it integrates our retiree health benefit program with Medicare in a manner that is fully consistent with private sector best practices. The bill also formalizes our obligation to deliver mail and packages six days per-week through an integrated delivery network, and includes accountability, transparency and reporting requirements.

The bill itself:
H.R.3076 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

The House vote
D: Y 222
R: Y 120, N 92
Ttl: Y 342, N 92

Of notable Republicans, MTG, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, and Louie Gohmert voted against it, and Lynne Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and Kevin McCarthy voted for it.

The Senate vote
D+I: Y 50
R: Y 29, N 19, nv 2
Ttl: Y 79, N 19, nv 2

The two nonvoters were Hagerty (R-TN), Inhofe (R-OK).

Of notabe Republicans, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski voted for it, while Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Mitt Romney, Ted Cruz, and Rick Scott voted against it.

All the Democrats voted for the bill, and about 3/5 of the Republicans. Even blue-dog Democrats like Josh Gottheimer, Joe Manchin, and Kyrsten Sinema.

 

[lpetrich]

The Senate had a cloture vote before continuing with the bill:
D+I: ,Y 49, nv 1
R: Y 25, N 17, nv 8
Ttl: Y 74, N 17, nv 9

 

[Elixir]

“Cash strained” is bullshit.
It’s a service, and is supposed to cost money. All deJoy is doing is making it cost more to run than it should justifying curtailing services, making it even worse, destroying millions and millions of dollars worth of perfectly good sorting equipment … guy belongs in jail next to his Orange boss/co-conspirator.