WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representatives Sam Graves (R-MO), Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO), and Mark Alford (R-MO) re-introduced the Pony Up Act this week, which would protect consumers by putting the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) on the hook for late delivery of bills. The legislation was originally introduced in the 118th Congress. Cosponsoring the legislation were Reps. Mike Bost (R-IL), Mike Collins (R-GA), Tracey Mann (R-KS), and Pete Stauber (R-MN).
Countless complaints have been registered by constituents whose mail hasn’t arrived on time, or at all in some cases. Many of those complaints have involved late fees needing to be paid regularly due to bills being delivered late. Multiple municipal utilities have also complained that their bills aren’t arriving to their customers in a timely manner. The legislation would require USPS to pay any late fees incurred on bills due to delayed delivery service.
“Constituents across my district are routinely frustrated by late mail delivery and they should be—the Postal Service isn’t getting the job done,” said Congressman Graves. “Folks expect their mail to show up on time, six days a week. Instead, they are constantly faced with late deliveries and it’s costing people money. If the Postal Service isn’t going to get the mail out of the processing center and to the mailbox on time, then they should pony up and pay the late fee.”
“With extreme weather like we saw earlier this month, not to mention the complete failure of the Postmaster General’s Delivering for America Plan, families and small businesses across my congressional district continue to voice their frustration with delivery service from the USPS. Not only is it preventing them from getting timely information, but it is costing them their hard-earned dollars as they face late fees due to delayed delivery on monthly bills,” said Congressman Cleaver. “We need bipartisan action to ensure these costs are not levied on hardworking Americans who have no ability to prevent these delays, and I’m proud to introduce the Pony Up Act with Reps. Graves and Alford to provide relief.”
“The Postal Service is vital, especially for the many rural communities in Missouri’s Fourth District. The USPS has failed to fulfill their Congressionally mandated six-day delivery window. These delays carry tangible consequences; many Americans have shared accounts with delayed checks resulting in late fees on bill payments. It is only fair that the Postal Service should reimburse taxpayers for late fees accrued due to USPS delays,” said Congressman Alford.
The bill would enable anyone who incurred a late fee due to the late delivery of a bill to file a claim for a late fee repayment. Filing for the repayment would occur online through a portal or in person at any post office.
The legislation would also require a report on delayed mail, giving Congress relevant and accurate information to identify how effective the Postal Service is and what average delays look like.
You can view the bill here.
Over the last several years, Congressman Graves and Cleaver have voiced numerous concerns with the USPS about performance issues. In October 2022, Reps. Graves and Cleaver sent a letter to Postmaster General Dejoy expressing concerns about the agency’s failure to fulfill their congressionally mandated duty to provide six-day mail delivery. In December 2022, the Postal Service responded with complaints about low unemployment rates in the Kansas City region and encouraged residents to apply to work on the USPS, without offering a plan for the agency to meet their mandate.
In March 2023, Reps. Graves and Cleaver called on Postmaster General DeJoy to deliver a plan to address mail delivery delays, fulfill the USPS’s legal obligation to deliver mail 6 days per week, and listen to the concerns of Kansas City residents that had been frustrated with the performance of their local USPS branches. Following that letter, the USPS OIG announced they would conduct an audit of delayed mail and delivery operations in the Northland and the Kansas City area. The audit was completed in August of last year.
In January 2024, Graves and Cleaver led a cohort of fellow lawmakers calling on USPS to halt price increases on stamps, following the agency’s record-breaking fourth rate increase in the last eighteen months. The legislators demanded USPS address the failings of the Delivering for America Plan and turn around performance issues of the USPS in order to legitimize a price hike for consumers.
In August 2024, Graves also called for USPS to audit the St. Louis Processing and Delivery Center, answer for their absentee ballot delivery issues and present a report on potential effects of their misguided proposal to reduce rural mail pickup times.
In September 2024, Graves, Cleaver, Alford and other legislators called on the USPS to implement the audit recommendations from the OIG’S report on the Kansas City P & DC.