WASHINGTON – Challenges with the cash-strapped United States Postal Service sent many Americans to their wit’s end during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in communities reliant on the mail for essential goods.
Yet despite concerns from members of Congress that recent service changes hit rural communities more than urban centers, a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found few significant differences in on-time USPS delivery rates between these locales.
“The report validates expectations that there are few differences in service performance for urban and rural areas,” said Angela Curtis, the USPS vice president of delivery operations, in a written response to the report from the Government Accountability Office, a government watchdog.
The Postal Service’s financial viability has been on the Government Accountability Office’s High Risk List since 2009. The Government Accountability Office said that in response, the Postal Service has recently “made changes to its operations designed to restore financial self-sufficiency.”