(TargetLiberty.org) – The United States Postal Service (USPS) Postmaster General Louis DeJoy sparred with Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee while testifying about the organization’s future before them on Wednesday, February 24.
DeJoy came under fire last year in the months and weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election, with Democrats accusing him of “doing exactly” what Trump wanted — using a cost-cutting strategy to justify disrupting mail-in voting efforts.
That animosity came to a head during Wednesday’s hearing when Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) tore into him at one point, asking if he planned to stick around or thought a new appointee would replace him. DeJoy responded he wasn’t a presidential appointee. Rather, he was selected from a group of about 200 candidates by the USPS Board of Governors. Continuing, he added that he planned on sticking around “a long time. Get used to me.”
The USPS Requires Serious Reform
DeJoy testified that the USPS is hemorrhaging money to the tune of $10 billion a year and urgently needs Congressional assistance in the form of legislative reform and relief. Total net losses from 2007 through 2020 total up to nearly $87 billion.
According to DeJoy and others, a significant portion of those losses occurred due to a 2006 legislative requirement for the USPS to pre-fund more than $120 billion in pension liabilities and retiree healthcare.
DeJoy said there was no pathway to the total elimination of annual financial losses, but he did plan to release a 10-year strategy to “break-even” on cost overruns. Concerns requiring immediate attention included the USPS’ “operational and network misalignment to mail trends,” underinvestment in infrastructure, inadequate growth strategies, and “outdated” pricing mechanisms.
The postmaster general testified that current draft legislation alone wouldn’t “solve the problem.” American Postal Workers’ Union head Mark Dimondstein suggested Congress award the USPS additional funding totaling $40 billion.
The future of the USPS appears to remain shaky. We’ll keep you updated as Congress struggles to come up with a plan to save the nearly 250-year-old service.
Copyright 2021, TargetLiberty.org
