WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Services’ ongoing issues, worsened by concerns that delays could affect the receipt and processing of mail-in ballots, have led to a new wave of action from Georgia’s congressional delegation.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff last week introduced legislation to change how the postmaster general is hired by requiring Senate confirmation for the appointee and implementing term limits. Meanwhile, Georgia’s nine House Republicans sent yet another letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. This time, they asked him for assurances that absentee ballots won’t get lost in transit ahead of the November election.
“Our constituents and all residents of Georgia — most of whom have always viewed the USPS as reliable — depend on the delivery of mail to pay their bills, receive their paychecks, file their taxes and send their ballots,” the lawmakers wrote. “However, over the past year, many of our constituents have lost faith in mail delivery by the USPS in Georgia due to delays caused by the implementation of the United States Postal Service Delivering for America Plan.”
That plan, announced by DeJoy in March 2021, envisioned modernizing the service to make it more efficient and financially viable. Consolidating services was among the components, which included the new Atlanta Regional Processing and Distribution Center in Palmetto that opened in February.
The members’ letter mentions that most of the complaints center on problems at the facility in Palmetto, a south metro town located on the border of Fulton and Coweta counties.
DeJoy has said in the past that the Postal Service was aware of the issues and was working to increase staffing and improve services there. More recently, he told reporters he was certain the Postal Service would be ready to handle the influx of ballots by mail nationwide in the coming weeks.
“We engage in heroic efforts intended to beat the clock,” DeJoy told reporters during a virtual news conference last week, according to The Associated Press.
Over the past several months, every member of Georgia’s congressional delegation has expressed frustration about postal delays and urged DeJoy to act. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have called on him to resign amid ongoing customer complaints. Ossoff’s bill envisions new oversight for the next postmaster general.
DeJoy was a GOP megadonor who owned a logistics business when he was appointed by then-President Donald Trump and approved in 2020 by the Postal Service’s nine-member board of governors. He was the first postmaster general who was not a career employee of the service.
President Joe Biden has been filling vacancies on the board with allies in hopes of creating more accountability for the postmaster general, but those appointments require Senate confirmation. When vacancies arise, it generally takes months before new members can be installed.
Biden does not have the power to directly fire DeJoy. If DeJoy steps down on his own accord, the board of governors then would be tasked with choosing his replacement.
Under Ossoff’s proposal, the president would appoint a postmaster general and the Senate would confirm that person. After an initial five-year term, the Senate would have to sign off on a second term.
Ossoff said he was hoping to do something to address the ongoing issues that he hears about from Georgians regularly.
“This is about whether seniors are receiving their medication in the mail,” he said during a news conference to introduce the legislation. “This is about whether citizens are receiving vital notices from the court, notices to appear, notices of eviction. This is about whether small businesses can function. A high-quality Postal Service can’t be a luxury; it is a necessity.”
Ossoff said by implementing Senate oversight, it puts accountability on elected officials to ensure the postmaster general and Postal Service are living up to expectations.
Instead, what we currently have is “a failure of leadership and a failure of management,” he said.
Ossoff said Senate confirmation would ensure that only highly qualified candidates become postmaster general by requiring lawmakers to review the résumés of nominees and give them a chance to ask appointees about their vision for the job and understanding of the duties.
“When you look at other critical roles in the federal government, they have to be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate,” Ossoff said. “That is what my legislation would do.”
