WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Americans learn of another rate increase for postage stamps, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) led Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Peter Welch (D-VT) in pushing for change at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to protect the jobs, businesses, and Americans who rely on the Postal Service. In a letter to the USPS Board of Governors, the Senators questioned Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s leadership which has resulted in higher prices for Americans and poor service. USPS announced earlier this month that in July, the cost of First-Class Mail Forever stamps would increase to 73 cents.
In 2020, Postmaster Louis Dejoy announced the Delivering for America (DFA) plan to address the operational and financial strains the USPS was confronting. However, instead of seeing improvements to the Postal Service, the plan has resulted in diminished quality of customer service, unsustainable postage increases, and drastic declines in the postal industry, which employs nearly eight million people and produces $1.9 trillion of annual economic activity.
“We have a vested interest in seeing USPS succeed. Our constituents rely on it for their daily correspondence, bills, lifesaving medications, and sometimes, their livelihood. The U.S. Postal Service is, by law, a fundamental service provided to the people by our government,” wrote the Senators. “It has become clear that under the DFA, USPS is continuing to implement changes that are harmful to Americans and the American businesses that rely on the service. As the Board of Governors, you must step in before further harm is caused.”
Despite Congress passing bipartisan legislation and appropriating additional funds that took USPS from $9.2 billion in losses in 2020 to a one-time spike in net income to $57 billion in 2022, leadership at USPS has continued to increase postage rates. Since 2022, the price of First-Class stamps increased from 60 cents to 68 cents, with an additional 5-cent increase announced for this July. From 2022 to 2023, USPS saw the largest drop in First-Class mail in 10 years, greater even than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The full letter is available here