Sam Graves-Time for the Postal Service to Pony Up

Dear Friend,

The United States Postal Service is one of the only federal agencies that can trace its roots to the United States Constitution. Needless to say, mail delivery is one of the few things the federal government should do and should do well. Unfortunately, they aren't.

I've heard countless complaints about prescriptions not being delivered on time, gifts and packages going missing, and bills not being delivered until long after the due date. It's not just a problem in Kansas City and North Missouri, but all over the country.

There's almost nothing more frustrating than being charged a late fee because the Postal Service couldn't deliver your bill on time or lost your check in the mail. It's just plain wrong.

If the Postal Service makes a mistake, the Postal Service needs to pony up and pay the late fee. That's why I introduced the Pony Up Act with Representatives Cleaver and Alford—to ensure that when the Postal Service doesn't deliver your bill or payment on time, they pay the late fee. It's only fair.

For more than a year, Congressman Cleaver and I have been asking the Postal Service for a plan to fix things. So far, we've heard nothing but excuses and more postage rate hikes.

After refusing to comment for months, the Postal Service finally found their culprit. They decided to blame their own employees and the fact that one of their trucking contractors recently closed up shop in the Kansas City area. The only problem? That trucking contractor filed for bankruptcy in 2022. They knew this was coming. They either didn't execute or didn't bother to come up with a plan to avoid impacts.

That's not a problem you can blame on your employees. That's a problem that starts from the top. I want to be clear that the problem isn't with frontline postal workers and local letter carriers. This is an upper management problem, plain and simple.

We can't afford more excuses and more expensive mail. We know that when the Postal Service raises postage rates, it drives away customers—forever. That makes it even harder to right the ship.

I hope this bipartisan effort is a wake-up call for the Postal Service. The American people are sick and tired of excuses. We need a real plan to get the Postal Service back on track.

Sincerely,

Sam Graves