USPS is “twisting in the wind”, claims Senator Carper
Following the news that the US Postal Service’s (USPS) Board of Governors has lost another two of its nine Senate-confirmed members, Senator Tom Carper has claimed that the postal service has been left “to twist in the wind”. In a statement issued yesterday (8 December), Senator Carper – the author of the Improving Postal Operations, Service, and Transparency Act of 2015 (iPOST) which is currently working its way through the Washington system – said that the current problem with the USPS Board was “due to Congressional inaction”.
Senator Carper added: “Because of Congress’ inability to come to consensus on postal reform legislation over the last five years, the Postal Service continues to twist in the wind, only able to address the financial challenges it faces by degrading its primary service, fast and efficient delivery of the mail. Customers and stakeholders are left with uncertainty about what the future holds for the Postal Service and how the Postal Service will transform itself to remain relevant in the digital age.”
The Senator maintained that the “uncertainty” at USPS has been made even worse by “obstruction” in Congress which has “made it impossible to consider the five pending nominees for the Postal Board of Governors before the current board was rendered ineffective by term limits”.
Senator Carper continued: “This is negligence on the part of Congress. This would never occur in the private sector because shareholders would demand oversight from a strong board to protect their investment. Congress has failed to protect postal customers.
“Congress must act now to restore appropriate oversight to this vital $70bn government-backed corporation and to enact reforms that will restore service and faith in this 200-year-old institution. This is particularly pressing as we enter the winter holidays where shipping and mail volume are expected to increase exponentially.”
The terms of USPS Governors Louis Giuliano and Ellen Williams expired on Tuesday (8 December), leaving James Bilbray as the lone outside advisor to Postmaster General Megan Brennan and Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman.
