Back to School – Postal Edition
 
Lawmakers are heading back to Washington, D.C. to (hopefully) do their jobs and stave off another government shutdown. But, like a poorly managed mailroom, their list of legislative tasks keeps piling up with plenty of junk to sort through. One key issue for members of Congress to address is the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), which lost an astounding $6.5 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2023 and more than $6 billion so far in FY 2024. There’s been no shortage of Congressional proposals to fix the ailing agency, but few bills have what it takes to get the USPS back on its fiscal feet. Below, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) examines three pieces of postal legislation that have yet to earn lawmakers’ stamp of approval:
 
United States Postal Service Stop and Study Act (S. 4675)
 
This promising (but flawed) legislation requires the USPS to submit a comprehensive proposal to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) before implementing any permanent “network changes” to the postal system. TPA has repeatedly extolled the benefits of robust oversight by the PRC and believes that the watchdog should continue to keep a close eye on the USPS. However, the legislation as written would deter the USPS from pursuing even small-scale changes that would eliminate redundancies and save taxpayers and consumers money. The bill would prompt PRC consideration of any “permanent... consolidation of processing, distribution, or delivery operations,” without regard to scope. That’s counterproductive because, according to the Government Accountability Office, the USPS’ mail processing network exceeds what is needed for letter and parcel volumes. To permit the USPS to make these changes without PRC approval, lawmakers can add language specifying that "network changes" "do not include removals of 2 percent or less by volume of all mail collection boxes or processing machines within a designated Regional Processing & Distribution Center region." This safe harbor would go a long way toward eliminating redundancies and getting the USPS on firmer fiscal footing.  
 
Postal Police Reform Act (S.3356)
 
Unfortunately, postal crime remains rampant. Postal carrier robberies increased by 30 percent to 643 in 2023, and robberies resulting in injuries doubled to 61. Recently, two USPS employees were assaulted and robbed in broad daylight in a quiet neighborhood in Stockton, California. In Greensboro, North Carolina, local mail carriers were robbed three times in one week. The list goes on. Some progress has been made by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) in cracking down on mail crime. There have been more than 1,200 arrests since the launch of Project Safe Delivery in May 2023, and 40,000 collection boxes and receptacles have been secured. But, far more needs to be done to make mail carriers and consumers feel safe again. One simple solution to increasing mail carrier safety is to bolster police presence on mail carriers’ routes. The USPIS has about 700 police officers, and strategically deploying them to hot-spot areas can go a long way toward addressing crime. The Postal Police Reform Act would provide a clearer mandate for the postal police force, clarifying that police protection extends to “on-duty employees of the Postal Service in any location in the United States.” Hopefully, this legislation passes Congress, and postal workers and consumers don’t need to think twice before delivering and checking the mail.  
 
Modifying Allocations to Improve Local Service Act (MAIL) Act (H.R. 8642)
 
The USPS isn’t exactly known for keeping its priorities straight. The struggling agency is in the process of replacing more than 60 percent of its fleet with electric vehicles (EVs), up from the originally proposed 10 percent.  As is often the case, the USPS could have simply consulted its own Inspector General’s (IG) reporting to get a better idea of the risks and rewards of EV procurement. One IG report from March 2022 runs through different scenarios on agency EV use with detailed cost and mileage assumptions and finds that, under a wide range of cases, EV adoption would not be good for postal finances. According to the report, an EV fleet would be more expensive than conventional trucks assuming, “an average delivery route length of 24 miles per day, and 301 operating days per year.”

As per usual, taxpayers will be footing the bill. Back in 2022, Postmaster General DeJoy solicited $3 billion from Congress in exchange for bolstered EV targets as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. The MAIL Act would steer this money toward a better use, rerouting the appropriated taxpayer dollars toward the notoriously short-staffed USPS hiring more employees. While this money should have never been spent to begin with, the least that lawmakers can do is steer it toward a far more pressing priority.
 
Lawmakers have their work cut out for them, and so does postal leadership. It’s time for everyone to kick it into high gear and work together to get the USPS delivering for the American people again.
 
 
BLOGS:
 
Tuesday: Federal Bill of the Month — August 2024, State Bill of the Month — August 2024, and San Francisco Considers Nation’s First Anti-Technology Housing Law
 
Wednesday: What You Should Be Reading: August 2024
 
Thursday: Back to School: Postal Edition
   
 
Media:
 
August 29, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted me for their story on Baltimore Mayor Scott signing an executive order creating framework for how funds from opioid settlements will be used.

August 29, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted me for their story on the Safe Streets program.
 
August 30, 2024: The Herald (New Britain, Conn.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “The Postal Service's war on privacy.”
 
August 30, 2024: RealClear Markets ran TPA’s op-ed, “Global Regulators Want To Hamstring AI Innovation.”
 
September 1, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted me for their story on the Safe Streets program.
 
September 2, 2024: Townhall ran TPA’s op-ed, “Congress Risks America’s Medical Innovation With New Legislation.”
 
September 2, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me for their story on the local effect of tariffs.
  
September 3, 2024: RealClear Markets ran TPA’s op-ed, “Courts Reject the FTC's Non-Compete Power Grab.”
 
September 3, 2024: The Blaze ran TPA’s op-ed, “Internal emails reveal WHO’s war on science.”
  
September 3, 2024: CSPAN rebroadcasted Patrick speaking at Erick Erickson’s The Gathering in Atlanta, Georgia.
 
September 4, 2024: WBFF Fox Baltimore quoted me in their article, “Baltimore non-profits decide how to spend opioid settlement funds.”
 
September 4, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted me for their story on how the 5 million for the Peer Navigators program would be spent.
   
September 5, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted me for their story on how funds from opioid settlements will be used.
 
September 5, 2024:  Clean Technica mentioned TPA in their article, “Sheep Thrive In Solar Project Opponents Tried To Kill.”
  
September 5, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed for their story on members of Congress’ salaries.
 
September 5, 2024: I appeared on WBOB 600 AM (Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about Kamala’s tax plan.

Have a great weekend!