Keep US Posted Calls on Congress to File Bipartisan Legislation to Fix DeJoy’s Delivering for America Plan & Protect the U.S. Postal Service
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 31, 2024) — Keep US Posted — a nonprofit advocacy group of consumers, nonprofits, newspapers, greeting card publishers, magazines, catalogs and small businesses — commends the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) for questioning DeJoy’s twice-annual mailing rate hikes, but is disappointed that the regulator determined it is powerless to stop the rate hikes or other disastrous results of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s Delivering for America plan. Keep US Posted now calls on Congress to file bipartisan legislation to protect the U.S. Postal Service.
Reluctantly approving the proposed July price increases (which means mailing rates will go up across the board among all Market Dominant mail products, eclipsing the rate of inflation), the PRC questioned the sensibility of hiking rates and its negative effect on mail volume, mail-reliant businesses, and the American public. In releasing its decision, the PRC noted:
“Although the price adjustments proposed in this proceeding are consistent with applicable law and the Commission has no legal basis to reject the proposed changes, the Commission is concerned, given the current state of affairs, that the Postal Service’s proposal does not reflect reasoned consideration of the potential widespread effects of its proposal, is not prudent, and is not consistent with the best interests of all stakeholders. Specifically, the Commission remains concerned about the substantial declines in Market-Dominant volumes, overall service performance for Market Dominant products, and the Postal Service’s overall financial situation, issues that have all remained significant, if not worsened, since the current Market Dominant ratemaking system went into effect.”
Rates for First Class Mail, for example, will increase by nearly 7.8%. Each proposed increase is priced well above inflation of 1.622%. Per the PRC’s approval, the cost of a single stamp will rise from 68 to 73 cents — nearly 7.4%.
“Postal regulators are finally acknowledging that stamp hikes are driving disastrous declines in traditional mail volume, which is still the biggest money-maker for the USPS,” said Kevin Yoder, former Republican Congressman from Kansas and Executive Director of Keep US Posted. “The Postal Regulatory Commission’s hesitant approval of the latest stamp hike — a key component of Louis DeJoy’s Delivering for America plan — creates the perfect opportunity for Congress to step in and right the ship."
Yoder continued, “House Oversight and Accountability ranking members Raskin and Connolly, as well as other House Democrats, asked the PRC in a May 23, 2024 letter to reject the latest rate increase, noting that the Postal Service is failing to meet its statutory requirement to ‘maintain high quality service standards.’ Now is the time for Congress to take a hard, bipartisan look at the financial solvency of the Postal Service under the Delivering for America plan’s failed reforms and file legislation to save the mail.”
Fueled by mail volume losses of more than 9%, USPS posted a $6.5 billion loss for fiscal year 2023 — the same year it was projected to break even under Postmaster General DeJoy’s Delivering for America plan. The Board of Governors anticipates another $6.3 billion loss in 2024.
About Keep US Posted
Keep US Posted is a nonprofit advocacy group of consumers, nonprofits, newspapers, greeting card publishers, magazines, catalogs, and small businesses — all united in the belief that a reliable, affordable U.S. Postal Service is essential to our way of life and should be protected. Keep US Posted supports alternatives to current and future efforts to slow the mail and increase postage rates. To learn more about the organization and to get involved, visit www.KeepUSPosted.org.
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