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AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko teamed up with more than 50 members in the House in a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to immediately remove and replace the six current members of the Postal Service Board of Governors.

“Under the tenure of this Board of Governors, the Postal Service was blatantly misused by President Trump in an unsuccessful gambit to influence a presidential election, the Postal Service is currently failing to meet its own service standards with historically low rates of on-time delivery, and conflicts of interest appear to be a requirement for service,” wrote the Members. “Because of their lax oversight, many families struggling through the pandemic still await delivery of their stimulus checks, credit card statements, or event holiday cards.”

The letter—led by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Government Operations—highlights three broad failures on the part of the Board of Governors that warrant the immediate removal and replacement of its current members:

• Silence in the face of continued gross mismanagement
• Continued and self-inflicted nationwide delays in mail delivery
• Rampant conflicts of interest

“For these reasons, we ask that you immediately remove the six current Postal Service Board of Governors and work with Congress to find the right people to perform these essential duties,” the Members concluded.

Tonko has long spotlighted the failings of USPS leadership, which continue to harm both its customers and dedicated workforce. Last week, he sent a scathing letter to Postal Service Postmaster General Louis DeJoy expressing dissatisfaction with significant mail delays being felt in the Capital Region. Last year, Tonko teamed up with more than 80 colleagues in a bipartisan letter raising concern on troubling reports of slashed service operations that were causing significant delays in mail delivery.

Full text of the letter is available here.

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