WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. mailings are still facing “unacceptable delays” months after the problem arose and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy should explain why he hasn’t fixed the problem, according to a group of 33 American senators.
During the week ended Dec. 26, punctual delivery nationwide was 64% for first-class mail and 45% for periodicals, according to senators.
Delays in salaries and other mailings by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) drew attention this summer as a record number of voters were sent on ballots to elect a new president.
DeJoy, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump last year, suspended operational changes in August after huge criticism for postal delays.
He is scheduled to testify next week before a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on the financial prospects for the postal service, along with Ron Bloom, a former Obama administration official elected last week as the new president. of the U.S. Board of Governors.
The 31 Democratic senators and two independent lawmakers, led by Michigan Democrat Gary Peters, who chairs the postal service oversight committee, said “we urge you to be fully transparent with the public about postal service operations and the reasons for which are still facing delays “.
They cited the USPS reports as part of an upcoming ten-year strategic plan that could slow down mail further.
DeJoy said Wednesday in a statement that the plan aims to solve problems “that prevent the postal service from meeting the reliability expectations of the American people and generating billions of dollars in losses every year without purpose.”
DeJoy received severe criticism for making service changes that delayed deliveries and suspended them in August before the 2020 presidential election.
“We have to acknowledge that during this high season, we have been far from meeting our service goals. Too many Americans were left waiting weeks for major mail and package deliveries,” DeJoy said last week, apologizing to customers. .
Last week, the USPS reported revenue of $ 318 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, with a record 1.1 billion vacation packages, while first-class mail revenue declined by $ 177 million.
USPS reported net losses totaling $ 86.7 billion between 2007 and 2020. One reason is that in 2006 Congress passed legislation requiring USPS to pre-finance more than $ 120 billion in debt obligations. pensions and health care for retirees. Unions have called this requirement an unfair burden that other companies do not share.
Report by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler and Lisa Shumaker