Washington, D.C. – Today, Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee Chairman Dave Joyce (R-OH) held an oversight hearing on the United States Postal Service (USPS) to collect testimony from Inspector General Tammy Hull on a variety of issues, ranging from oversight and budget needs to performance challenges and facility improvements, highlighting the agency’s important service to the American taxpayers.
FSGG Subcommittee Chairman Dave Joyce said, “The United States Postal Service is a mainstay for most – if not all – our constituents and communities. Its operations are vast, with 640,000 employees working to deliver millions of pieces of mail and packages daily. Yet, the Postal Service has faced significant financial challenges over the last several decades. Except for Fiscal Year 2022, the Postal Service has incurred losses in each fiscal year since 2007. Last year, the USPS lost more than $9.5 billion. The Office of the Inspector General, or OIG, plays a critical role in ‘righting’ the Postal Service ship.”
Rep. Ashley Hinson said, “I want to move on to facilities and some of the concerns we have there. In December 2024, then Postmaster General DeJoy claimed over 31,000 facilities were in shockingly horrible condition with over $20 billion in deferred maintenance. My biggest concern with this is that I am worried about not only the conditions for the workforce, but also for executing their jobs effectively. Do you think that these deferred maintenance issues, and the frankly, ill-equipped buildings, are actually slowing down services for the American people?”
Rep. Chuck Edwards said, “The talk is that the United States Postal Service is not funded by the taxpayer, that it somewhat stands independent, but when I look at the fact that we’ve got losses year after year, those losses have to be backfilled by capital from somewhere. Could you describe to this panel what the source of funds for operating capital is in the years that we run deficits?”
Rep. Mark Alford said, “In recent years, the post office has consistently failed, though, to meet its basic obligation, delivering mail on time. It’s one of the most common sources of complaints that I hear from my constituents back in the 4th Congressional District of the great state of Missouri. Rural Americans, in particular, are being left behind, waiting days or even weeks for letters and packages to arrive. A small business in my district called Cackle Hatchery is one of the few remaining hobby hatcheries of chickens in the United States, and they rely on the United States Postal Service to deliver these live chickens that have a lifespan in the mail of about 5 days. The problem is that they’re not getting there, the chicks end up dead, the insurance is not covering it, and they’re losing $40,000 a month.”
FSGG Subcommittee Vice Chair Nick LaLota said, “I want to talk a little about safety of our letter carriers, because since 2020, over 2,000 carriers have been assaulted or robbed, often for the arrow keys, that Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez was talking about, that unlock dozens of mailboxes, opening the door to identity theft and financial fraud. Shockingly, and this is crazy to me, a mere 14% of those incidents wind up being prosecuted. In one case, a carrier was robbed at gunpoint, and the criminal got just 30 days. I think the safety of our postal workers shouldn’t depend on geography or a prosecutor’s discretion like that.”
USPS Inspector General Tammy Hull said, “The Postal Service is a critical resource to the American public, providing 6-day-a-week mail and package delivery in every town, city, and state across the country. The Postal Service is at a point where it must make difficult decisions involving trade-offs between service and financial health. We provide essential oversight over the planning and implementation of postal changes, including whether they are resulting in expected cost savings and efficiencies. We also review the resulting impacts on people and businesses in urban, suburban, and rural America.”
Insights and testimony from the hearing will inform the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations process. The USPS provides a vital service to Americans every day, and the FSGG Subcommittee remains committed to advancing policies that promote efficient, cost-effective operations and strengthen the agency’s long-term financial stability and mission delivery.