In the 117th Congress, Congress passed, and President Biden signed into law H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, which codified the agency’s mission and helped to stabilize its finances. It allows six-day delivery, an integrated delivery network for mail and packages (separating these functions could have cost up to $15 billion), and performance targets and reviews of accounting for direct and indirect costs. It also requires semi-annual reports on finances and operations and a “dashboard” on service performance.
Now it is up to the USPS to take advantage of this new law and get its costs under control. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan, including $34 billion for “self-help” cost reductions, is intended to move the USPS in the right direction. But two years into the implementation of this plan, results have fallen woefully short. Indeed, the USPS appears to be moving in the wrong direction.