Opinion: Let’s Urge Congress to Pass Legislation to Save the U.S. Postal Service

Kevin Yoder | Special to California Black Media Partners

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night can stop the U.S. Postal Service, but the mismanagement of former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy just might. Although DeJoy resigned this spring, the U.S. Postal Service continues to follow his failed “Delivering for America” plan into ruin.

There is no doubt that DeJoy’s 2021 Delivering for America plan has been a total disaster. It kicked off sharp stamp and postage rate increases twice per-year at amounts far above the inflation rate — something that had never been done throughout the Postal Service’s 250-year history. Still following DeJoy’s foolish plan, the Postal Service is plotting yet another massive price hike this July.

Not only are postal officials making mail prohibitively expensive for consumers and businesses alike, but they are also making mail services increasingly slow and unreliable. As a result, the Postal Service is hemorrhaging customers — and we’re not even halfway through DeJoy’s 10-year plan.

Congress stepped up help in 2022 with a series of bipartisan reforms, including removing a requirement for the Postal Service to pre-fund its retiree health benefits 75 years in advance. That reform alone has saved the Postal Service billions of dollars.  And although it was intended to preserve service and prevent the need for massive postage hikes, DeJoy still plowed ahead as if the reform law never existed. 

As a result of such mismanagement, the Postal Service has lost over $16 billion and counting in just two years. The huge losses aren’t surprising, given that traditional mail, not packages, is still the Postal Service’s biggest revenue-generator.

Fortunately, Congress is taking action again with new legislation to keep the Postal Service delivering like it should. Called the “USPS Services Enhancement and Regulatory Viability Expansion and Sustainability for the U.S. Act” (or USPS SERVES US Act), the bill would give the Postal Regulatory Commission — the agency that regulates the USPS — the power to stop onerous stamp hikes and mail delays. The bill, which was introduced by Congressman Sam Graves (R-Mo.), would also limit price increases to once per-year, and institute other reforms aimed at accountability, efficiency and success — such as creating an autonomous Office of Customer Advocate to hear Americans’ concerns and protect the public.

While there are many issues in today’s tumultuous world that deserve attention, there is no doubt that the mail is essential and needs help. If Congress doesn’t enact the USPS SERVES US Act, the price of a stamp could be $1.19 by 2030. By then the Postal Service could even be defunct — destroying our ability to send and receive mail and putting its 8 million employees out of a job.

It’s important to remember that for millions of Americans, mail isn’t just a convenience; it’s a lifeline. The Postal Service is the only courier that delivers to every address in the U.S., no matter how rural or remote. No private company could — or would — deliver to our country’s most remote locations because profits are the first priority for any private enterprise. And that’s exactly why the U.S. Postal Service should be reformed, not privatized.

Like our country, the Postal Service was established by the people, for the people — and we must take action to keep it that way. If you would like to help save the mail, please ask your member of Congress to support the USPS SERVES US Act.

Now is the time to raise our voices and save the mail before it self-destructs. We can’t allow Louis DeJoy’s damaging shadow to continue looming over the Postal Service.

About the Author 

Kevin Yoder is a former Republican congressman from Kansas and executive director of Keep Us Posted — a nonprofit advocacy group united in the belief that a reliable, affordable U.S. Postal Service is essential to our way of life and should be protected. To learn more and easily ask your member of Congress to support the USPS SERVES US Act, visit www.KeepUSPosted.org and click “Take Action.”