New documents show postal delays are 'far worse' than previously known

As the House of Representatives prepares a Saturday vote on legislation to reverse recent changes in postal operations and send emergency funds to help the agency before the November election, the chair of the House Oversight Committee says that things are far worse than previously known.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), released new internal USPS documents Saturday with a warning for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about steep declines and increasing delays nationwide over the last two months.

Nearly 700 demonstrations were underway today—"Save the Post Office Saturday"—a national day of action in which people across the U.S. will demand that President Donald Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy end their assault on the U.S. Postal Service.

DeJoy testified before Congress Friday, where he said that the USPS has attempted to cut out extra trips by mail carriers, which employees have said have led to significant delays in mail delivery.

The documents released by Maloney show a 7 to 9% decline in mail delivery going back to July, including in First-Class, Marketing, Periodicals, and Priority Mail. DeJoy, a donor to President Trump and the first postmaster general to not be a career postal worker, took over USPS in June.

“After being confronted on Friday with first-hand reports of delays across the country, the Postmaster General finally acknowledged a ‘dip’ in service, but he has never publicly disclosed the full extent of the alarming nationwide delays caused by his actions and described in these new documents,” said Chairwoman Maloney.  “To those who still claim there are ‘no delays’ and that these reports are just ‘conspiracy theories,’ I hope this new data causes them to re-think their position and support our urgent legislation today.  We have all seen the headlines from every corner of our country, we have read the stories and seen pictures, we have heard directly from our constituents, and these new documents show that the delays are far worse than we were told.”

The Postmaster General and his top aides have never admitted to the sweeping delays and reductions in service caused by his actions and detailed in these new documents.

On Friday, the top Republican on the Oversight Committee, Rep. James Comer, testified repeatedly before the House Rules Committee that there are “no delays” with the mail and “no data” proving the delays are real. Two days earlier, Comer and House Republican leaders Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise sent a letter to Chairwoman Maloney and Speaker Nancy Pelosi arguing that nationwide reports of delays are nothing but “conspiracy theories” being “manufactured” by Democrats to “undermine President Trump” and support “an unnecessary bailout plan.”