VA, DC Demand Scrutiny Of US Postal Service Overhaul

WASHINGTON, DC — Twenty attorneys general, including Mark Herring of Virginia and Karl Racine of the District of Columbia, have joined to ask the commission that oversees the U.S. Postal Service to look into a long-term plan to overhaul mail across the United States, saying the plan has had little oversight and there must be accountability.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and New York Attorney General Leitita James submitted a formal complaint on Thursday asking the Postal Regulatory Commission to order the U.S. Postal Service to request an advisory opinion on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's 10-year plan to transform the Postal Service.

“Postmaster DeJoy’s ten-year plan will completely overhaul every aspect of the U.S. Postal Service, from processing and logistics to how postal workers transport mail, and these plans must be scrutinized very seriously before they are implemented,” said Attorney General Herring in a news release. “The Postal Regulatory Commission must have the opportunity to review this plan and issue an opinion before any changes are made to the USPS, as is required under federal law.

"Virginians depend on the postal service for so many things — paying bills and other payments, life-saving prescriptions, and other necessary goods — and it’s imperative that any changes made to USPS do not disrupt or delay service,” he said.

The complaint was submitted by Shapiro and James who were joined by the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, Rhode Island, and Washington.

The attorneys general submitted the complaint to the Postal Regulatory Commission, an independent federal agency that provides transparency and accountability to the Postal Service.

The complaint said the postmaster general adopted a 10-year plan that will make significant changes to postal services without first obtaining an advisory opinion from the commission. Federal law requires the Postal Service to go to the commission whenever it makes a change to postal services that will affect the entire country.

The complaint said, "The plan will transform virtually every aspect of the Postal Service. … Rework how the Postal Service transports mail and other products; overhaul its processing and logistics network; enact slower service standards for First-Class Mail and Periodicals and First-Class Packages Services; reconfigure the location of places where customers can obtain postal products and services; and adjust rates. ... To date, the Postal Service has only submitted two requests for an advisory opinion to the Commission on important but narrow changes that represent only a small portion of the Plan's scope."

Congress empowered the Commission to provide expert advice and oversight to the Postal Service— oversight that is sorely needed after Postmaster General DeJoy implemented operational changes in summer 2020 that caused nationwide mail delays, according to a news statement from Shapiro's Office.

In many states, these changes disproportionately affected rural residents, older Marylanders, and others who rely on USPS for everyday necessities and life-saving medications.

The complaint requests that the Commission order the Postal Service to request a review of the full extent of the 10-year plan, affording the States and the public an opportunity to provide comment.

The group explained that avoiding review by the commission will harm the states and the public and could lead to future problems with mail delivery. "The plan reflects multiple unprecedented changes in the Postal Service's operations and service, at a time when reliance on the mail remains at historic levels, and states across the country are grappling with a resurgence of COVID-19 cases caused by the delta variant."

The coalition's statement continued, "Failing to seek the commission's expert review on such a transformational change upsets the statutory balance established by the (Postal Regulatory Act), deprives the Postal Service of the commission's expert recommendations, risks significant errors in the Postal Service's decision-making, and ultimately harms all who rely on the Postal Service for timely and efficient mail."

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This story includes reporting by Patch Editor Marlene Lang.