MEUSER RELEASES STATEMENT AFTER POSTMASTER GENERAL HEARING

Pottsville, PA – Today, Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09) released the following statement after Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee:

"Many Democrats have accused the Postmaster General of politically driven sabotage, with wild accusations that are not based in reality. After today's Senate hearing featuring Postmaster General DeJoy, it is evident that his plan for the agency would only lead to a more efficient and financially solvent Postal Service that is better equipped to deliver for the American people.

"During the hearing, he reiterated that ‘as we head into the election season, I want to assure this committee, and the American public, that the Postal Service is fully capable of delivering the nation's election mail securely and on time.' The post office delivers 471 million pieces of mail per day. Even If as many as 70% of voters, higher than projected, were to vote by mail over a 6-week period of mail-in ballots, the daily increase would be 2 million extra mail pieces, or ½ of 1% per day. Very manageable.

"In July, the Postal Service sent a letter to the states to provide guidance with the intention of helping them manage any increase in mail-in ballots and to assure that any lawful changes to mail-in ballots are compatible with the post office. Additionally, the Postmaster General announced this week that he is suspending certain changes at the Postal Service until after the 2020 election in order to ‘avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail.'

"In response to claims that operational changes at the post office are a direct mandate from President Trump, intended to delay election mail, the Postmaster General stated that he ‘has never spoken to the President about the Postal Service.' He was appointed from the USPS Board of Governors, who were confirmed by the United States Senate.

"Like many businesses across the country, the Postal Service has faced staffing problems and financial headwinds from the pandemic. COVID-19 has understandably caused delays in mail processing as it has affected other industries' supply chains. Any attempt to blame such delays on efficiency-driven policies is baseless and irresponsible. In response to these pandemic-related challenges, Congress provided the agency with a $10 billion loan. To date, the USPS has not yet seen the need to access this lending authority to fund its operations.

"Unfortunately, Democrats appear to be more interested in prolonging the problem than finding a solution. In Washington, House Democrats have spread falsehoods to support their narrative that the Postal Service needs a direct infusion of $25 billion. These calls are not reflective of the data or the testimony of the Postmaster General who stated, ‘If you just throw $25 billion at us this year and we don't do anything, we'll be back in two years.' Certain Democrat Attorneys General, including in Pennsylvania, have filed highly inappropriate and misguided lawsuits against the post office for the purpose of garnering publicity. Such opportunistic litigation is politically motivated and will have no bearing whatsoever on the post office operations or any benefits to the taxpayer.

"I will always support a strong, effective post office. They should be provided the resources they need to perform at a high level of excellence. Today's hearing offered much needed clarity on the management of the Postal Service and their efforts to prepare for an increase in mail-in ballots this November. I encourage all to watch it tonight on CSPAN and tune in on Monday when the Postmaster General will appear before the Oversight Committee in the House of Representatives."

Key Facts:

• USPS delivers an average of 471 million pieces of mail per day.
• Even If as many as 70% of voters were to vote by mail over a six-week period, the daily USPS mail volume would increase by only .5%.
• During the week of December 16, 2019, USPS delivered 2.5 billion pieces of mail, a 500% increase.
• USPS routinely prioritizes official election mail over other pieces regardless of their mail classification.
• USPS routinely removes and relocates blue mailboxes. They have removed 35,000 blue mailboxes over the last decade, long before DeJoy took office. The Postal Service announced last week they would halt any further removal of mailboxes until after the election.
• The Postmaster General is appointed by the USPS Board of Governors who were all confirmed with bipartisan support in the Senate.
• USPS is working with states to ensure voters who choose to participate by mail can be assured their ballot will arrive on-time to be counted.
• The Postal Service has approximately $14 billion in cash on hand, has yet to even access a $10 billion loan available through the CARES Act, and is projected to be solvent through August 2021.