Remarks Of Paul Steidler To U.S. Postal Service Board Of Governors

May 5, 2022 Meeting

Governors, thank you for the opportunity to address you.

In an April 12th article in The Washington Post, when talking about the need for many types of capital investments at the U.S. Postal Service, Postmaster General DeJoy said, “I have 30-year-old IT. I have to spend a couple billion dollars to get my IT relevant.”

The Lexington Institute applauds the Postmaster General’s candor and urges the Postal Service to prioritize overdue information technology investments. This may not be as publicly captivating as getting new vehicles, but it is critically important. In fact, it is likely the most important area for investments.

Improved IT systems will enable the Postal Service to have and to provide to its regulators and the public better cost and performance data. Indeed, data investments can help to transform the postal system as they do so many other organizations. It will drive improved efficiencies and better pricing.

It is also important for the Postal Service to play defense on IT investments, that is to double down on preventing cyberattacks. The Postal Service warned about this in its 10-K where you said, “We also face cybersecurity threats which may result in breaches of systems containing confidential or sensitive information, and/or our ability to operate systems necessary for conducting certain operations.”

The Postal Service has abundant data, and its IT systems interact with many third-party providers. This is further impetus for significant investments.

Thank you.