The postmaster general testified before lawmakers for the second time in three weeks on struggling delivery rates and postal reform legislation
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy asked congressional appropriators for more money Thursday to support his still-unreleased strategic plan for the nation’s mail agency and tried to reset expectations for slower but more consistent service.
Testifying before the House Appropriations subcommittee on financial service, DeJoy said the U.S. Postal Service needs to “recast that expectation of what it is that we’re able to do” to stem financial losses. Lawmakers had previously questioned DeJoy on a Washington Post report that he would stop flying first-class mail cross-country and planned to eliminate a speedier category of first-class mail to cut costs and help the agency make delivery windows.
DeJoy confirmed those plans Thursday and said they were a necessary evolution for the agency, which is struggling to both right its balance sheet and define its core services in an era of less paper and more packages. Continue reading.