WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Andrew Clyde (GA-09) introduced the Postal Service Transparency and Review Act to bolster oversight of the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) decision-making processes.
The legislation seeks to address the lack of sufficient oversight of significant changes to postal services following the USPS’s decision to transition and consolidate local Processing & Distribution Centers across North Georgia to the Regional Processing & Distribution Center (RPDC) in Palmetto, Georgia. The agency’s poor planning and mishandling of this transition has extensively disrupted mail delivery operations throughout the region.
“The U.S. Postal Service’s botched transition and consolidation operation in North Georgia highlights the dire need for oversight reform,” said Clyde. “If the USPS had fulfilled its legal obligation to seek an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission, I believe Georgians would not have been forced to bear the loss of revenue, immense pain, and hardships brought on by mail delays caused by the disastrous transition. I’m hopeful that by strengthening oversight of the Postal Service’s decision-making processes, my legislation will ultimately prevent large scale postal service changes from negatively impacting Americans in the future.”
Postal Transparency and Review Act
Currently, under 39 U.S.C. 3661, the Postal Service is required to request an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) before making any nationwide or substantially nationwide service changes. However, the USPS has broad discretion which allows the agency to determine whether a proposed change warrants a PRC review. Additionally, since there is no explicit deadline for the Postal Service to submit changes for review, the agency can delay submission until changes have already been implemented.
This has resulted in the Postal Service bypassing necessary oversight, as evidenced by its unilateral decision to implement significant changes to the RPDC network in major metropolitan areas without seeking input from the PRC.
The Postal Transparency and Review Act addresses this issue by:
- Requiring the USPS to submit significant proposed changes to the PRC for review no later than 180 days prior to the proposed effective date of such changes.
- Expanding the submission requirement to include changes that impact service not only at the national level but also at the postal district level, which typically align with state boundaries.
- Authorizing the PRC to suspend any changes if the Postal Service fails to seek the required advisory opinion under the amended requirements.
- Mandating that any postal operations changes suspended by the PRC be reverted to their previous state before the implementation of the suspended changes until an advisory opinion is published.
- Allowing Congress to intervene and disapprove of changes through a fast-tracked joint resolution pursuant to the Congressional Review Act after receiving the PRC’s advisory opinion.
By strengthening this oversight process, Rep. Clyde’s Postal Transparency and Review Act aims to prevent the Postal Service from bypassing accountability and ensure that changes with significant service impacts undergo thorough review and evaluation.
Original cosponsors include Representatives Rick Allen (GA-12), Buddy Carter (GA-01), Brian Jack (GA-03), Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), Rich McCormick (GA-07), and Austin Scott (GA-08).
Text of the Postal Transparency and Review Act is available HERE.
Background
On August 13th, 2024, Rep. Clyde led the Georgia Congressional Delegation in sending a letter to then-USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy demanding that he immediately fulfill his legal obligation to seek an advisory opinion from the PRC for the agency’s recent consolidation process in the Peach State.
On August 22nd, the Postal Service responded to this letter by announcing the agency would finally seek an advisory opinion from the PRC on its “Delivering for America” plan, which encompassed the changes made in Georgia.
On January 31st, 2025, the PRC published its advisory opinion, which found that the Postal Service’s plan depends on “defective modeling” and does not appear ready for implementation. Additionally, the opinion notes that the USPS’s proposal relies on “overly optimistic financial projections for cost savings” and has “significant negative impacts on rural communities throughout the United States.”
