The U.S. postmaster general is pushing back against a bipartisan bill that would tie bonuses for him and his deputy to improved mail service, according to a letter obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: The lobbying comes as the legislation is expected to clear the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday morning with bipartisan support, sources familiar with the matter tell Axios.
What he’s saying: “I was fortunate enough to be quite successful in my career in the private sector, so any compensation action you take against me will have little effect,” Postmaster General David Steiner argued in a letter sent to HSGAC members on July 31.
- “But it will affect your ability to attract qualified people in the future,” he continued.
- Steiner argued the bill “would have the near inevitable impact of increasing costs because almost any action to improve service comes with added cost.”
He also called the bill “completely unnecessary,” arguing that the USPS’s performance has already improved and will continue to improve.
“It would bar the Postal Service’s top two officials from receiving bonuses unless USPS reaches at least 95% on-time delivery for key residential mail across all geographic areas.
USPS leaders received more than $2 million in bonuses over the last decade, with Steiner receiving $170,000 in his first year, according to a release from Hawley’s office.”
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The PMG’s letter to the committee is a must-read.
With delivery performance like it is now, they won’t be receiving bonuses any time soon, should this bill pass. I love it!
Steiner and his mentor Doug Tulino have together sank the USPS to a level not previously seen. For arguably the first time in its history, a majority of citizens are not confident that when they mail something, that it will arrive at all or on time. Steiner constantly states that scores are improving when everyone knows these people are masters at manipulating data; they’ve done it for years to get their bonuses. If he was so successful in business then he should decline his bonus to show his commitment to the service. I feel certain that someone would be happy to tackle this job for base pay, knowing how important the service is, but if he and Tulino are the best the BOG can do then the country is doomed. It’s clear that Steiner relied on Tulino too much for advice and the result is a further demoralized work force and terrible service. They should be shown the door before it’s too late.