Postmaster says his plan may slow mail delivery

WASHINGTON — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said some mail could be delayed under his plan to revitalize a U.S. Postal Service plagued by slow delivery and what he called a “dire” financial outlook.

DeJoy, embattled since deliveries slowed last summer ahead of an election that featured unprecedented volumes of mailed ballots, spoke Wednesday at a congressional hearing.

He divulged few details about the 10-year reform plan that’s still being crafted. But, he said, “If we move forward with the plan, only about 30 percent of First Class Mail would be impacted with any additional delays.”

Mail delivery still hasn’t recovered from the drop in on-time delivery that began after DeJoy cut overtime and extra trips by delivery trucks in an effort to rein in costs. The changes were put on hold in August after an outcry, but performance lagged, with first-class mail falling below 63 percent on-time delivery the week before Christmas, according to a document posted online by the Oversight Committee.

Service has rebounded to 80 percent of first-class mail being delivered on-time in early February, according to the committee document.

DeJoy also called the service’s congressionally imposed requirement to fund retiree health benefits decades in advance “unfair and unaffordable.”

“Many people — across the country and on this panel — have grave concerns, and recent events have aggravated them,” said Representative Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform that held the hearing.

The Postal Service faces a decline in mail volume as well as the requirement to pay for health benefits for future retirees. Maloney called it “a dire financial situation that requires us to act.”