Press Releases

 WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) joined the U.S. House of Representatives in passing H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation, introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), seeks to make the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) more efficient and financially stable while giving the agency more flexibility to improve operations. Provisions of the bill include repealing the requirement for the USPS to pre-fund health benefits, requiring the USPS to deliver both mail and packages at least six days per week across an integrated network, and directing the USPS to develop and maintain a publicly available dashboard to track service performance, among others. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform estimates these reforms will save USPS $50 billion over 10 years.

“It’s no secret that the Postal Service has faced major challenges throughout this pandemic. But the reality is, the Postal Service has been struggling financially for more than a decade due to an ill-conceived 2006 law,” said Congresswoman Pingree. “The Postal Service receives effectively no support from the federal budget, and is subject to a cumbersome pre-funding mandate for retiree health care services, which is not required for any other federal agency. In addition to these avoidable financial challenges, Mainers and people all over the country are experiencing mail delays, sometimes going weeks without receiving paper mail. We cannot sit idly by as the service that millions of Americans rely on fails to meet basic standards. I was proud to vote with Democrats and Republicans alike to pass the Postal Reform Act tonight. This important legislation will ensure the Postal Service can survive and thrive for years to come.”

Click here to learn more about the Postal Service Reform Act.

In 2006, congressional Republicans passed and President Bush signed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act establishing a prefunding health care mandate for USPS which has kept the agency in the red for 14 years.

Throughout her time in Congress, Pingree has pushed for and supported legislation to protect the Postal Service. In March 2021, Pingree cosponsored H.R. 2230, legislation that would require the USPS to maintain the service standards for first-class mail that were in effect on January 1, 2021. And most recently, as Mainers experience continued mail delays, Pingree signed on to a concurrent resolution objecting to increased postage rates and policies instituted by USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that are slowing down mail delivery. 

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