U.S. Representatives from several states recently formed a bipartisan caucus to rally support to improve the United States Postal Service.
Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet), Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) form the Congressional Postal Service Caucus. Bergman and Garbarino co-chair the caucus.
Some members of the caucus and other federal lawmakers introduced the Protect Postal Performance Act back in March. The bill would restrict the U.S. Postal Service from consolidating or closing any distribution centers that serve less than 100,000 people.
The bill would also prevent the agency from developing a plan that would result in a decrease in how quickly mail is delivered.
“The Postal Service is more than just mail delivery in rural America — it’s a critical lifeline for small businesses, seniors and veterans,” Bergman stated in a press release. “While modernization and reform are necessary for the long-term health of the system, those changes must not come at the expense of rural and remote communities.”
In 2021, former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced the U.S. Postal Service’s 10-year Delivering for America plan.
To make the agency more financially stable, the plan outlined objectives such as consolidating centers and implementing their Local Transportation Optimization (LTO) plan, which made cuts to evening trucks that would pick up mail and had morning trucks carry more. This resulted in packages and mail being left in a facility for longer.
“Rural America does not deserve to have their mail sit for a day and not be moving to where they want it to go,” said Michigan Postal Workers Union President Michael Mize.
In December, the Office of the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General concluded its audit on the LTO and found that complaints of slower delivery services increased and the performance reviews for first-class mail decreased.
“We found the LTO initiative negatively impacted service to customers,” the report stated. “The service performance scores for First‑Class Mail declined after the implementation of LTO, more significantly impacting the rural population. Additionally, customer complaints about mail delivery delays increased after the LTO implementation.”
The Protect Postal Performance Act currently sits in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The U.S. Postal Service declined to comment.
This story was produced by the Michigan News Group Internship Program, a collaboration between WCMU Public Media and local newspapers in central and northern Michigan. The program’s mission is to train the next generation of journalists and combat the rise of rural news deserts.
