Biden’s Postal Service Nominees May Threaten DeJoy’s Tenure
Are you still getting Christmas cards? Did your corner mailbox recently disappear? Are you ready to pay even more for your postage stamps? Are you afraid your local post office might be closed and you may soon have to depend on a private, and more expensive, mail delivery service? Are your critical prescription drugs in your mailbox when you need them? Did you get charged interest because your credit card bill was late and you could not pay it on time? Was your paycheck on time?
These issues were clearly on the minds of members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee when they met on February 24 to discuss the future of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). And they had good reason to be.
As the presidential election heated up last fall, the issue of mail-in voting amid a pandemic became a primary concern of the campaign. Millions of Americans held rational fears of standing in long lines to vote in crowded rooms that might pose a super-spreader danger to public health. They wanted to cast their ballots by mail. But one man, the director of the U.S. Postal Service, decided to make changes that would hurt, not help the situation. Federal courts often blocked him.
That man, the one who eliminated overtime for postal workers, removed sorting machines and eliminated popular mailboxes, is Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General and Trump megadonor. He is also a multi-millionaire with over $30 million invested in companies that do business with or compete with the Postal Service, according to the New York Times. And last week, he was a defiant witness before the House Committee that held a hearing to begin deciding the composition of the nine-seat USPS Board of Governors.
With three open seats in play, President Biden’s new nominees would give Democrats a majority and a chance to oust DeJoy, who told the Committee to “get used to me” because he was not resigning, despite nearly unanimous criticism about his faulty leadership since his appointment in September 2020.
Biden’s new nominees would bring diversity to the USPS Board, which is currently composed of five men, four of them White. The nominees are Ron Stroman, a recently retired deputy postmaster general, Anton Hajjar, the former general counsel for the American Postal Workers Union, and Amber McReynolds, chief operating officer at the Vote at Home Institute, a non-profit that describes itself as “a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to making sure every American can vote in secure, safe, accessible, and equitable elections by expanding vote-at-home systems in all 50 states.”
McReynolds’ nomination has been applauded by voting rights groups while also causing some concern about her lack of knowledge of postal operations.
Stroman is Black, Hajjar is Muslim and McReynolds is a woman. The two men are Democrats and the woman is an Independent. Before they can join the Board, each must be confirmed by the Senate, which now has a Democratic majority. Also, two other members are now past their term appointment, so Biden has the opportunity to propose two additional nominees. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, applauded the President for nominating “individuals who represent the diversity of America.”
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich), who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee which oversees the confirmation process, seemed pleased with the appointments. He told The Washington Post, "We need to get qualified nominees in these seats who will work with Congress to ensure the Postal Service is focused on strong service performance — and we need to do it quickly.”
At the hearing, Rep. Cory Bush (D-Mo) said the current composition of the board reminded him of a “millionaire white boys’ club,” which is now in charge of employees who are about one-third people of color. DeJoy responded that he does not decide the makeup of the USPS Board because its composition is determined by the president and the Senate.
Committee members’ references to his appointment by and loyalty to the ex-president, as well as against his pre-election improprieties, drew rebuffs from other committee members. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) called them a politically motivated “charade.” DeJoy also took offense when called a “political appointee.” He informed the Committee that this was untrue.
Technically, he is correct. Political appointees may be fired as soon as a new president takes office. In DeJoy’s case, the USPS Board is appointed, and it is up to them to select their leader who will become the Postmaster General. The composition of the USPS Board was historically designed to protect it from any elected officials who might seek to use it for political gain.
During the hearing, many Committee questions focused on the precarious financial situation of USPS. The enormous popularity of email and online bill paying has slashed the number of its users, resulting in $80 billion in liabilities according to DeJoy, but disputed by The Washington Post, which estimates the shortfall to be $188 billion.
Everyone agrees that major reforms are needed now. At the hearing, only one solution received bipartisan support. That one would require employees to enroll in Medicare, rather than making USPS pre-fund their health benefits. That move would save an estimated $40 billion over the next decade.
DeJoy told the Committee, “The years of financial stress, underinvestment, unachievable service standards and lack of operational precision have resulted in a system that does not have adequate resiliency to adjust and adapt to changing circumstances.”
What would DeJoy do to achieve financial stability? He said his full plan would be ready in March, but early reports believe it would include provisions to “lower delivery standards” for first-class mail and reduce the use of airplanes for mail transportation.
Rep. Katie Porter (D-Cal) said, “I’ve heard that you have a new strategic plan, but I’m really concerned that this plan may neither be strategic nor a plan.” DeJoy responded by saying the Postal Service has conducted several “extensive studies” about how to improve reliability and reduce costs. Porter said the Committee will be asking to see those studies, as well as the list of consultants who contributed.
Democrats largely attacked DeJoy’s solutions, while Republicans defended him, as they accused their Democratic colleagues of grandstanding and unfairly attacking his proposed reforms. An audit by the Inspector General (IG), however, said DeJoy’s pre-election actions reflected a lack of preparation or concern for how they might affect service and negatively impacted the quality and timeliness of mail delivery.” Inspector General Tammy Whitcomb also urged the agency to explore new sources of revenue such as partnering with Internet providers.
At the hearing, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) suggested that USPS expand services into “postal banking,” a term that describes providing additional services such as check cashing, offering savings accounts and making loans.
During the presidential campaign, candidate Biden pledged to put the Postal Service on solid ground. He has already signed Executive Orders to convert delivery vehicles to ones with “zero-emission,” a Green Energy initiative that would also save millions in maintenance.
But any changes made by Biden and the new Board, whatever it looks like, better hurry. USPS estimates another $9.2 billion loss in 2021.
