Going Postal

Louis DeJoy, the U.S. Postmaster General (below), took part in hearings before two separate congressional committees - one in the Senate, the other in the House - and he tried to put the best spin on the "reforms" that he has instituted at the United States Postal Service.

He more or less told both committees that his changes are meant to deliver the mail in a leaner, more efficient way, and he added that he would ensure the prompt dispatching of mail-ballots for the fall elections.  He even endorsed mail-in voting, saying he votes by mail himself, and he added that Trump's demonization of mail in voting was "not helpful." 

Neither was DeJoy's testimony.  For all of his rhetoric to bring a more business-oriented approach to the Postal Service, he still defended his wrongheaded efforts to eliminate collection boxes and sorting machines, and his commitment to offering overtime "as needed" to keep the mail moving contradicted his earlier efforts to getting rid of that too. And, this past Saturday, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) was quick to point out that the mail slowdowns, which DeJoy blamed on the pandemic, actually started months after the country partially shut down - and right after DeJoy took over the Postal Service.  Also, under questioning from Representative Katie Porter (D-CA), DeJoy revealed that he didn't know the domestic postal card rate (35 cents) Nor could he answer her question of how many people voted by mail in the 2016 presidential election (139 million people).

Even more damning were some documents that came to the attention of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the committee that held this past Monday's heating, showing that mail delivery had indeed dipped after DeJoy took over. The documents had been withheld from public view, and the committee's chair, Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) accused DeJoy of withholding information and "concealing documents and downplaying the damage that you’re causing." Representative Maloney is threatening a subpeona for more inside documented information.

DeJoy, a logistics expert, is actually doing what any business CEO would do to keep a company going strong, but that misses the point.  As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been quick to point out, the post office is a government service.  Maybe a government service that pays its own way, but a government service just the same, and it isn't designed to run like a business like Federal Express (oops, excuse me -FedEx - the name was shortened to appease customers who can't spell) and United Parcel Service (which UPS still stands for).  Those companies ship and send mail for profit and only reach a limited clientele. The Postal Service, which is a directive of the original U.S. Constitution, is a universal institution designed to serve everyone, just like the Food and Drug Administration (another government agency being politicized by Trump) and the Treasury Department.  Because it's not just mail-in ballots that are on the line.  It's also prescription medications, bill payments, paychecks, and, yes, Christmas cards from Aunt Susan (I do have an aunt by that name, by the way, and she not only sends me Christmas cards every year, she sends me birthday cards every year!).  The Postal Service serves the public, not customers.  DeJoy ignores that distinction at the country's peril - and his own.