Postmaster General Louis DeJoy unveiled his ten-year plan to put the agency on a path to profitability, but would include slower delivery times and some post office closures.
DeJoy says his plan would erase $160 billion in losses by increasing postage prices and expanding parcel delivery. The plan also would require Congressional legislature to change requirements for pre-funding retiree pension costs, and by integrating the postal service’s retiree health care coverage with Medicare.
The current delivery standard for mail is three-day delivery anywhere within the continental U.S.
DeJoy’s plan would increase mail delivery to six days.
There is also a plan to replace mail sorting machines with package sorting machines and open 45 package processing annexes, addressing long-term growth for package deliveries.
“Sending a piece of mail should not be a game of chance, and that’s what’s happening with the USPS, unfortunately, right now,” Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois, told CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave. “And unfortunately, people are starting to shift some of their habits to work around the mail. So they’re emailing documents and they’re basically reducing their reliance on the mail, which long term is a disaster.”
Fearing a death spiral of the USPS, Democrats are calling for DeJoy’s ouster and the removal of the governing board behind him and his plans. Biden cannot fire DeJoy, but has nominated two Democrats and an advocate to fill three of four openings on the board. If approved by the Senate, Democrats would hold a 5-4 majority on the board and could remove DeJoy if desired.
“While I understand Postal Service leadership’s desire to set long-term goals, I am concerned that several of the initiatives in this plan will harm service for folks across the country who rely on the Postal Service for prescription drugs, financial documents, running their small businesses, and more. Cuts to service standards for first-class mail, limiting hours at local post offices, and making it more difficult for people to access postal products would adversely impact USPS customers across the nation, including in rural and underserved communities,” said Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who chairs the Senate committee in charge of the agency.