U.S. Postal Service Board Should Promote Transparency And Independent Evaluations

During today’s public comment period before the U.S. Postal Service’s Board of Governors, the Lexington Institute’s Paul Steidler urged the Board to promote transparency and independent evaluations of the Postal Service. His remarks are below.

The U.S. Postal Service has again experienced a significant loss in the first six months of Fiscal Year 2023. With Congress having provided $120 billion in taxpayer funds to you since December 2020 through COVID funding, the Postal Service Reform Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act’s provision for electric vehicles, accountability is important.

Congress and the American people want clear and independent evaluations of the financial progress, or lack thereof, that the Postal Service is making. I ask that the Board of Governors consider the following to promote transparency and independent evaluations.

First, adopt and publicize a resolution that the Postal Service will take all appropriate steps to earn removal from the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s list of High-Risk government agencies when the next report is issued, circa April 2025. That will be three years after passage of the Postal Service Reform Act.

Second, adopt and publicize a resolution that the Postal Service will cooperate with the Postal Regulatory Commission on its Public Inquiry Docket, PI2023-4, about the Delivering for America plan.

Through this docket and/or other PRC proceedings, the Postal Service should provide the PRC and the public with regular, clear projections about your anticipated financial performance through 2030. This should be in the same format as what appears in Figure 2 of the March 2021 Delivering for America strategic plan.

Third, adopt and publicize a resolution that the interests of the public, the Postal Service, its employees, and retirees will be best served if the law is changed to allow USPS pension and retiree health care funds to be invested in a diversified, quality mix of stocks and bonds, as discussed in an April 26 report by your Inspector General.

All these modest and reasonable steps are within your powers, and responsibilities, to direct and control expenditures, review the Postal Service’s practices, and conduct long-range planning.

Thank you.