Title: Objecting to the slowdown in mail delivery and postage rate increase instituted by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and seeking to halt both actions pending further investigation.
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
This concurrent resolution objects to the slowdown in mail delivery instituted by the Postmaster General and urges that the decisions to slow down mail and increase postage rates be halted immediately pending further investigation and full substantiation by the Postmaster General to Congress.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 54 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 54

 Objecting to the slowdown in mail delivery and postage rate increase 
 instituted by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and seeking to halt both 
                 actions pending further investigation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 12, 2021

      Mr. Mfume (for himself, Ms. Norton, Mr. Cicilline, and Mr. 
 Krishnamoorthi) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which 
         was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Objecting to the slowdown in mail delivery and postage rate increase 
 instituted by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and seeking to halt both 
                 actions pending further investigation.

Whereas the United States Postal Service deliberately started slowing its mail 
        delivery on Friday, October 1, 2021, and plans to add rate hikes for 
        mail delivery to the slowdown as part of an overt plan by Postmaster 
        General Louis DeJoy;
Whereas the most widespread and significant changes will affect first-class mail 
        delivery, items such as letters, small packages, bills, and tax 
        documents;
Whereas prior to the changes by Postmaster General DeJoy, customers throughout 
        the United States could expect first-class mail to reach its destination 
        in 1 to 3 days; now, that timeframe will extend to between 1 and 5 days, 
        even though the United States Postal Service is required by law to 
        provide ``prompt, reliable, and efficient services'';
Whereas Postmaster General DeJoy started his tenure in June 2020, then 
        implemented operational changes at the United States Postal Service soon 
        after by slowing mail delivery, reassigning and displacing 23 postal 
        executives, and deactivating 10 percent of mail sorting machines to 
        create a dayslong mail backlog;
Whereas, on August 24, 2020, the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House 
        of Representatives held a hearing to hold Postmaster General DeJoy and 
        the United States Postal Service Board of Governors accountable for a 
        deterioration in mail delivery reliability in anticipation of the 
        November 2020 elections;
Whereas the hard work of the on-the-ground employees at the United States Postal 
        Service combined with congressional intervention prevented the vote-by-
        mail components of the November 2020 elections from failing;
Whereas the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives 
        continued to hold Postmaster General DeJoy accountable after the 
        November 2020 elections, holding another congressional hearing on 
        February 24, 2021, that--

    (1) examined legislative proposals to improve mail delivery performance 
standards; and

    (2) led to Postmaster General DeJoy's public apology for slowdowns 
through the holiday season;

Whereas the United States Postal Service is required by law to deliver to any 
        postal address in the United States, no matter what;
Whereas current United States Postal Service slowdowns could most affect the 
        elderly, people with disabilities, and those in rural areas for whom 
        mail delivery is critical to their health care, financial security, and 
        connection to the broader world;
Whereas affordability is a crucial aspect of the United States Postal Service, 
        which is currently being undercut by price hikes on many first-class 
        mail products according to the Postmaster General's plan;
Whereas the House of Representatives passed mail-in ballot delivery reforms 
        through the For the People Act in March 2021, and multiple other 
        measures have been introduced that could help the United States Postal 
        Service provide more dependable service for the American people, 
        including the United States Postal Service Fairness Act, the Vote By 
        Mail Tracking Act, the Nonpartisan Postmaster General Act, the Postal 
        Service Improvement Act, the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act, the 
        DEJOY Act, and the Postal Vehicle Modernization Act, as well as funding 
        measures through the Build Back Better Act that could help electrify the 
        United States Postal Service delivery vehicle fleet and modernize other 
        equipment used by frontline employees;
Whereas under Federal statute, the United States Postal Service must receive an 
        advisory opinion from the independent Postal Regulatory Commission, 
        which serves as a regulatory body for the United States Postal Service, 
        when it seeks to implement reforms that would affect service on a 
        nationwide basis;
Whereas the Postal Regulatory Commission has signaled that United States Postal 
        Service slowdowns under the plan might not have the intended effect, as 
        the slowdowns are based on ``unproven assumptions'', and that the Postal 
        Service would achieve only ``paltry'' savings from the Postmaster 
        General's plan; and
Whereas the Postal Regulatory Commission's advisory opinion does not carry the 
        force of law, however, and even if the Commission ruled firmly against 
        Postmaster General DeJoy's plan, the agency could move forward anyway: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
            (1) Congress objects to the slowdown in mail delivery 
        instituted by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in his plan; and
            (2) the decisions to slow down mail and to increase postage 
        rates should be halted immediately pending further 
        investigation and full substantiation by Postmaster General 
        Louis DeJoy to the Congress.
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