Hoyer Testifies About Fifth District Mail Delays at Oversight Hearing on USPS Delivery Service

WASHINGTON, DC - This morning, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) testified virtually before the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations' field hearing examining USPS service deficiencies in the Baltimore region. Earlier this morning, Congressman Hoyer sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and urged the Postmaster to look into significant postal service problems facing Southern Maryland residents. Below is a transcript of his remarks:

"Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thanks for holding this hearing in Baltimore. I know Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Ruppersberger, and Mr. Mfume, very much appreciate your looking at this vital issue. I want you to know that I recently sent a letter, today as a matter of fact, to the Postmaster General to ask him questions about the region that I represent in Southern Maryland. But of course, I'm concerned about the delivery of mail, throughout, not only our state, but as the former Chairman of the Postal Committee on the Appropriations Committee, I had numerous hearings about performance of a service vital to the American people. So, thank you very much for holding this hearing.

"I see that Carolyn Maloney, the Chair of the full committee, is not with us, this [hearing] is going to be looking at things that aren't go as well as they should have, however, last week, we were able to pass historic legislation with the leadership of the Chair of the full committee – and yourself as well, Mr. Chairman, and I congratulate the entire committee. And it was an overwhelming bipartisan vote in sending the bill to the Senate and I expect the Senate to start proceedings on it and hopefully pass it this week to get the Postal Service on sound fiscal standing so that they can proceed with the reforms that your committee that you have just discussed. I know that your committee and Chairwoman Maloney, the full committee, with highlight and help us reach the reforms that we need.

"I appreciate this opportunity to participate with you. I have written about concerns and I will speak briefly to concerns raised by a number of my constituents in the Fifth Congressional District. Postal delays have denied many of my constituents the ability to pay bills on time, despite mailing their payments early. It is unacceptable, Mr. Chairman, that delays have resulted in Marylanders receiving failure-to-pay notices from utility companies and subsequently risking utility shutoffs. Several constituents reported that their passport applications were unable to be processed by USPS employees at multiple locations in Southern Maryland. One constituent from Laurel contacted me after a USPS truck hit a personal vehicle on the street and would not pull over or stop to help. That's not the Postal Service, at large, but it is a problem that needs to be addressed in a wholesome and effective way. These issues are indicative of the national decline in USPS service performance and its particularly egregious performance failures in Baltimore and throughout Maryland.

"This [is a] serious national problem. America cannot function without a USPS that works. Let me say, tangentially, that the Postal Service delivers hundreds of millions of pieces of letters at about 159 million postal points every day at a one-percent mistake level, which all of us would like to replicate ourselves. That is a huge number of people who are not being served as well as we need them served. Across America, postal delays threaten the health of seniors and those with pre-existing conditions who depend on USPS to deliver their prescription drugs reliably.

"Last week, as I said, the House overwhelmingly passed the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act with a resounding 342-92 vote. Congratulations Madam Chair and all of you who worked on that postal reform bill. It is needed and it is necessary and took decades in the making. It had the support of Democrats, Republicans, Postal unions, and the USPS leadership, which worked constructively to make this bill possible and I want to thank Postmaster DeJoy for the work that he did. Honestly, Mr. Chairman, you've raised issues that I share with respect to systemic changes that have been made which have undermined the Postal Service ability to perform its job in a way that we expect. The legislation that we did pass, however, will invest in better pay and benefits for the USPS workforce and, importantly for the American people, ensure six-day delivery.

"Unfortunately, though, it will not address the significant service problems that plague Maryland and other states in the near term. I remain concerned about USPS policies that have been recently adopted, which you referred to, Mr. Chairman, the effect of which is the disruption of mail and delivery services. We in Congress are committed to making sure that USPS has the resources to address its systemic issues with delays and reliability. As I said, I recently sent a letter to Postmaster General DeJoy to express my deep concerns and urge him to rectify the issues I've been hearing about from my constituents. I know my colleagues in Maryland have done the same. I hope he will sit down with stakeholders in Maryland to hear directly about these issues and discuss ways to address them meaningfully. There is a critical need for increased transparency and accountability, starting from the very top, to ensure that Americans can send and receive their mail on time.

"Even in our age of digital communications, Mr. Chairman, Americans still rely on USPS for essential services, and we must ensure its dependability. I appreciate the subcommittee being here in Maryland today to focus in particular on the issues here in our state, and I look forward to hearing from the witnesses, who I hope will speak to these challenges and how they can be addressed. Thank you."