U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today called for an immediate investigation of turmoil at the United States Postal Service (USPS), purportedly stemming from a pattern of interference engineered by the Trump administration in its efforts to destabilize the post office.
“I write to request an investigation by the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General to determine whether undue political interference played a role in the resignations of Governor David C. Williams and Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman,” writes Rep. Pascrell. “Any attempts to sabotage postal operations or unduly influence the Board, especially by the Trump administration, would be an affront to the American people and undermine the USPS operations that account for 47 percent of the world’s mail.”
Rep. Pascrell has been a leader in Congress demanding reform to return the USPS to its former glory and strengthen it so it remains an integral part of American life, goals he outlined in a well-received April 2019 essay in Washington Monthly. Pascrell is a cosponsor of H.R. 2382, the USPS Fairness Act that would finally remove the health care prefunding anchor that has been strangling USPS since 2007. Pascrell is also a strong supporter of widespread postal banking, and in June 2019 his bipartisan amendment allocating $1 million to begin funding a postal banking system was passed by the House of Representatives.
The full text of Rep. Pascrell’s letter is provided below.