John,

Ask any American what federal agency they depend on and trust the most and they’re likely to say: the United States Postal Service (USPS). USPS has been delivering mail and keeping us connected for nearly 250 years.

But the financial condition of this venerable agency has deteriorated in recent years. So has the quality of its leadership. The current Postmaster General is Louis DeJoy, a billionaire Republican crony of Donald Trump who was installed by the former President to deconstruct the postal service, not to revitalize it.

Here’s the good news: this week, my colleagues and I passed bi-partisan legislation that will shore up USPS’ finances, saving the postal service more than a billion dollars while safeguarding the high standard of service Americans count on.

I am optimistic that the Senate will move swiftly on this bill and ensure that millions of Americans can continue to rely on the postal service to deliver mail, packages, prescriptions and voting materials.

Now the bad news: stabilizing postal service finances isn’t our only problem; Postmaster DeJoy is blocking a critical piece of President Biden’s climate action plan and sabotaging USPS by spending billions on gas guzzling, built-for-obsolescence vehicles.

USPS operates the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the world with 220,000 vehicles, most of which were built decades ago, constantly break down, and get just 8.6 miles per gallon. These clunkers are overdue for replacement, but instead of saving billions by choosing an all-electric, zero-emission fleet – as private sector competitors like UPS, FEDEX and Amazon are doing – Postmaster DeJoy is stubbornly moving ahead with a contract for delivery vehicles that will be just .04 miles per gallon more efficient than the 40-year old clunkers they are replacing. After politicizing and undermining the postal service for the past two years, he’s now trying to sabotage USPS by spending billions on what will be the last internal combustion fleet vehicles on the road a decade from now.

Adding insult to injury, DeJoy is thumbing his nose at an executive order from President Biden. As part of his climate action plan last year, President Biden ordered all agencies to electrify the entire 645,000-vehicle federal fleet by 2027 – a bold policy that will slash carbon pollution by millions of metric tons, save taxpayers billions in avoided fuel and maintenance costs, and help supercharge America’s growing electric vehicle industry.

But with one-third of the federal fleet at USPS, we can’t meet this goal without cooperation from Postmaster General DeJoy. So far, DeJoy refuses to comply. It’s time for Postmaster General DeJoy to get the message: stop sabotaging USPS and be part of the climate solution – or step aside.

Amazon, UPS and FEDEX didn’t choose to electrify their vehicle fleets because they are liberals. They did it because EV’s are the future, especially for stop-and-go delivery routes where they are vastly cheaper to operate. Experts agree that electrifying the USPS fleet will save billions while cutting pollution and boosting the American EV manufacturing economy.

If you agree, will you add your name to my petition urging Postmaster General DeJoy to do the right thing? Here’s the link to sign on: https://act.myngp.com/Forms/6463576068272163840

Thanks,

Jared