Here’s The Facts About the USPS, From US Rep. Newhouse

It's almost mind boggling the amount of conflicting information and even misinformation being spread about the USPS, mail in voting, and more.

Rep. Dan Newhouse over the weekend, released a statement with information about what's really going on with the Postal Service.  Check these out and decide for yourself. This is part of Newhouse's informational statement:

"The new Postmaster General (PMG) Louis DeJoy has put in place changes to improve the operational efficiency of the postal service.

• USPS has been on an unsustainable financial path that long predates PMG (Postmaster General) DeJoy and the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the rise of the internet, mail volume has decreased every year and losses at USPS have piled up: a total of $69 billion between 2007 and 2018. (Italics added for emphasis).

• Controlling costs is a key way USPS can keep losses down and maintain solvency. This includes keeping mail processing on schedule and cutting down on unnecessary overtime costs, vehicle trips, and unnecessary machinery.

• Historically, the USPS has struggled with rampant and uncontrolled overtime costs. The Postal OIG reported an increase of $327 million in overtime costs in mail processing and $576 million increase in overtime costs in delivery from 2014 through 2018, despite declines in mail volume. Mail processing delays also increased by 43% during that same time period. In 2018 alone, USPS’s overtime costs increased to nearly $1.1 billion from the planned amount of $732 million, a 49% unplanned increase.

• To address this issue, PMG DeJoy implemented new pilot initiatives to make USPS run on schedule and increase efficiency when sorting and delivering the mail.

• The steep decline in mail also means that USPS operations have to be leaner, which includes reevaluating if mail stops and machinery are not needed. During the Obama Administration, the USPS removed 12,000 mailboxes and, over time, retired old letter processing machines that are not needed because of the drop in mail volume."

Newhouse also addresses some of the myths surrounding the USPS, including:

"Myth: Congress has a constitutional duty to fund USPS.

Facts: • Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution empowers Congress “To establish Post Offices and Post Roads.” Congress established the Post Office with the Post Office Act of 1792, making USPS a permanent fixture of the federal government.

• The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 transformed the USPS into an independent agency of the executive branch, and the agency has been almost exclusively self-funded through stamp and postage sales since 1971.

• USPS may receive small appropriations of taxpayer dollars for “public service costs” up to $460 million, but USPS has not requested or received this reimbursement since 1982. They may also receive an approximate appropriation of $29 million for “revenue forgone,” but for many years, that funding has not actually been appropriated. If USPS had received these payments, it would make up less than 7% of USPS revenue."

To read the rest of Newhouse's informational release, click on the button below.