news

WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Paul D. Tonko (NY-20) voted to improve mail delivery across the Capital Region and strengthen the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) with H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, passed out of the House last night in a strong, bipartisan vote of 342-92. By saving billions in funding, increasing transparency, and creating new sources of revenue, this legislation will strengthen the financial footing of USPS so it can deliver reliable, on-time mail service to Americans across the nation.

“Every day, millions of Americans rely on the U.S. Postal Service to deliver their lifesaving medications, tax refunds, urgent packages, and much more,” Congressman Tonko said. “Yet decades of underinvestment and burdensome financial restrictions have undermined this essential public service. That’s why I was proud to vote to advance the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act and finally get USPS on the solid financial footing it needs to carry out its mission. In recent years, I’ve heard directly from many of my constituents who have been frustrated with operational changes at USPS that have compromised service and caused significant delays in mail delivery. This bold, bipartisan action will give the Postal Service and our postal workers the tools they need to provide reliable service to folks in our Capital Region and across the country.”

Congressman Tonko has long fought to support the Postal Service and to ensure residents of the Capital Region receive the prompt and reliable mail service they deserve. In August 2020, Congressman Tonko and a bipartisan group of colleagues sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, expressing deep concerns about operational changes at USPS that slowed the agency’s vital services in the midst of a pandemic. Last March, Tonko further pressed DeJoy on agency-wide directives that closed mail processing plants in his district, slowed urgent deliveries, and failed to provide needed equipment upgrades at Albany’s Karner Road processing facility. Through his advocacy and now through legislation, Congressman Tonko has worked hard to address the concerns of his constituents, hold key officials accountable for delays and service reductions, and preserve the Postal Service’s vital mission.

The Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 enacts several overdue changes to address the agency’s financial challenges, improve mail delivery, and support postal workers and retirees, including:

• Welcoming all future postal retirees into Medicare, delivering quality health care to our committed public servants while saving the USPS $22.6 billion over the next decade.
• Repealing an onerous requirement forcing the Postal Service to prefund retirees’ health care 75 years in advance, saving $27 billion over the next decade.
• Promoting reliable delivery and transparency through a public-facing, online dashboard featuring national and local level service performance data.
• Codifying the Postal Service’s longtime tradition of delivering mail and packages six days per week.
• Allowing the Postal Service to raise additional revenues by offering non-commercial property and services to state, local, and tribal governments.

###