Senate committee members and Postmaster General clash over postal changes; some could impact rural delivery

Sen. Josh Hawley, 'hates' Dejoy's
plan and vowed to try and 'kill it.'

Tempers flared as the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy wrangled over the U.S. Postal Service's lagging delivery, expenses and DeJoy's overall postal "optimization" plan, reports Eric Katz of Route Fifty. "DeJoy vehemently defended his efforts and said the senators standing in his way would bring about the end of the Postal Service."

The bipartisan pushback put DeJoy on the defensive and highlighted internal conflicts between DeJoy and Congress. "Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., became angry with DeJoy when discussing his plan to slow down delivery for some mail, which is expected to disproportionately impact rural areas," Katz writes. "Hawley said, 'I hate this plan and I’m going to do everything I can to kill it.' The senator raised his voice and said he was no longer interested in being nice to DeJoy, was growing tired of his initiatives, and had 'waited and waited and waited' for improved performance."

After prickly exchanges about who or what would "go down with the ship," Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who chairs the committee, "said he will follow up with the Postal Regulatory Commission on its review of DeJoy’s changes, which is due out in January," Katz explains. "Its findings are non-binding, and Peters said he will demand answers if postal management ignores the commission’s recommendations.

Several lawmakers criticized DeJoy's 'Regional Transportation Optimization' plan that "will require mail to sit overnight at post offices instead of being collected each evening for transportation to a processing center," Katz reports. "USPS paused those efforts in the run up to the election and its annual holiday busy season, but has vowed to resume them early next year."

Committee members zeroed in on USPS 2025 delivery targets, which were reduced, leaving next year's goals less robust than those from 2024. "For example, it expects to deliver regular cards and letters slated for two-day delivery on time just 87% of the time in fiscal 2025 compared to its goal of 93% in fiscal 2024," Katz adds. "The Postal Service also recently announced its intention to deliver some mail more slowly."

Jon Ossoff, D-Ga, asked "why Georgia is currently only seeing 75% of mail delivered on time, despite a promise this spring that USPS would be 'where we need to be' within 60 days," Katz reports. "DeJoy said the current performance level would remain as is for the foreseeable future. . . . Ossoff made clear he did not think DeJoy was doing enough and when the postmaster general said his attacks were becoming personal, the senator countered that he was reflecting the concerns of his constituents."