Kaptur Amendment To Hold Postal Service Accountable

Amendment Passes Committee to Restore Tough Delivery and Service Standards

WASHINGTON, DC— WASHINGTON, DC — Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) today offered an amendment that was accepted by the House Appropriations Committee in the Financial Services and General Government bill to require the United States Postal Service (USPS) to restore the tougher standards for delivery service that the USPS abandoned in 2012. The provision was included by voice vote to the annual funding bill for the next fiscal year, beginning October 1, 2016, for a wide range of federal agencies, including the USPS.

The amendment would reverse the 2012 decision by the USPS to lower its service delivery standards for First Class mail and periodicals.

“Delayed mail harms families, businesses, rural and urban communities, and is a drag on our economy,” said Kaptur, a senior member of the House Appropriations panel. “Sadly, delayed mail has become our new reality. However, that is not the promise made to the American people. State and local officials, small businesses and Members of Congress continue to hear from the public about the abysmal state of late mail. Medical prescriptions, graduation gifts, bill payments and notices, wedding and meeting invitations are all arriving late – in spite of being mailed extra early. This must change.”

Since the standards were lowered by postal service management, timely processing and delivery of mail has been delayed. According to an August 2015 finding by the USPS’ own Inspector General, “the amount of mail that failed to meet delivery targets in the first six months of 2015 increased 48 percent over the same period in 2014 – despite the new, more relaxed standards.”

The timely processing and delivery of mail is critical. USPS delivers 154 billion pieces of mail annually to 155 million delivery points, accounting for 47 percent of the world’s mail. This equals more than 20 times the volume of the total business for UPS and FedEx, the two giant private delivery firms.

Further undermining the rationale behind the cuts to service, USPS has admitted that its move to close plants and slow the mail actually lost the agency money – exceeding savings by $66 million in 2015. This is because the plan to close plants and slow the mail has cost an additional $130 million in transportation costs.

Such additional transportation expenses are evident in the Toledo area, where outbound mail sorting was transferred from a local Toledo facility to one located in Pontiac, Michigan in July 2013. Mail intended for the Toledo area was also shifted in April 2015, but to Detroit.

Rep. Kaptur’s language adopted today was simple and direct: “Provided further, That the Postal Service shall maintain and comply with service standards for First Class Mail and periodicals effective on July 1, 2012’’.

Congressional support for reversing USPS cuts in service standards is strong. To date, 233 House members – Republicans and Democrats – have cosponsored H.Res. 54, to require the Postal Service to “take all appropriate measures to restore service standards in effect as of July 1, 2012.”

Rep. Kaptur is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee.

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