Budzinski, Golden Urge Postmaster General DeJoy to Reconsider Plans to Slow Delivery Rates for Rural Residents

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) and Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) led 18 Members of Congress in a bipartisan letter calling for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to reconsider proposed changes to United States Postal Service (USPS) service standards that would exacerbate delays in mail delivery for residents in rural and underserved communities. 

“We are writing to express our extreme concern with the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) August 22, 2024, announcement that you will be adjusting mail delivery times, resulting in additional delays for our constituents who live in rural areas and areas that are more than 50 miles from a USPS processing center,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Postmaster General DeJoy. “While we understand the need for modernization and financial changes across the Postal Service, these changes cannot come at the expense of rural residents who rely on the USPS. Americans, particularly those living in rural areas depend on the Postal Service for medicine, food, paychecks and bills. For many families that we represent, a one-day delivery delay could mean late fees on a bill, a held-up paycheck creating financial stress and increased health risks awaiting critical medication.” 

The bipartisan letter is signed by Representatives Alma Adams (D-NC-12), Becca Balint (D-VT-AL), Jack Bergman (R-MI-01), Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA-02), Yadira Caraveo (D-CO-08), Mike Carey (R-OH-15), Donald Davis (D-NC-01), Suzan DelBene (D-WA-01), Steven Horsford (D-NV-04), Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), Wiley Nickel (D-NC-13), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA-03), Adrian Smith (R-NE-03), Pete Stauber (R-MN-08), Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24), Thomas Tiffany (R-WI-07), Jill Tokuda (D-HI-02), and Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02).

The full text of the lawmakers’ letter to Postmaster General DeJoy can be found here and below:

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy

USPS – Headquarters

475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW

Washington, DC 20260

Postmaster General DeJoy:

We are writing to express our extreme concern with the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) August 22, 2024, announcement that you will be adjusting mail delivery times, resulting in additional delays for our constituents who live in rural areas and areas that are more than 50 miles from a USPS processing center.

While we understand the need for modernization and financial changes across the Postal Service, these changes cannot come at the expense of rural residents who rely on the USPS. Americans, particularly those living in rural areas depend on the Postal Service for medicine, food, paychecks and bills. For many families that we represent, a one-day delivery delay could mean late fees on a bill, a held-up paycheck creating financial stress and increased health risks awaiting critical medication. This is especially important for rural constituents who may not live near a hospital or doctor’s office.

With this in mind, we ask you to reconsider your proposed changes to service standards, which could result in longer shipping times for those who do not live near a major USPS hub. While we understand that our constituents, regardless of proximity to larger postal facilities, would still be under the existing one-to-five day service standards, USPS has already been failing to meet these delivery standards for many of our constituents. Adding up to 24 hours of additional delays for rural residents will only exacerbate the existing on-time delivery problems our constituents are facing.

In the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, USPS reported that their on-time quarterly performance fell to 69.9% for three-to-five-day First Class mail delivery, far below USPS’s target of 90.3% on-time delivery for three-to-five day mail. This means that even before these changes take effect, nearly a third of USPS customers who use the three-to-five-day mailing options are not receiving their mail on time. Increased delays for some consumers will only increase delivery issues for our rural constituents and further decrease public faith in USPS’s ability to deliver on-time mail for all constituents, regardless of location.

Given the information provided, we strongly urge you to reconsider these plans. We also ask that you provide us with a list of counties, towns and ZIP codes that will face longer wait times for mail as a result of this plan. We request a response in writing by October 18, 2024.

We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

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