U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-GA, is leading the Georgia delegation in addressing the lack of oversight of the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) decision-making processes. Clyde filed the Postal Service Transparency and Review Act following what he calls a “botched consolidation process in Georgia” when they transitioned local Processing & Distribution Centers across North Georgia to the Regional Processing & Distribution Center (RPDC) in Palmetto.
“The agency’s poor planning and mishandling of this transition has extensively disrupted mail delivery operations throughout the region,” Clyde said.
“If the USPS had fulfilled its legal obligation to seek an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission, I believe Georgians would not have been forced to bear the loss of revenue, immense pain, and hardships brought on by mail delays caused by the disastrous transition. I’m hopeful that by strengthening oversight of the Postal Service’s decision-making processes, my legislation will ultimately prevent large scale postal service changes from negatively impacting Americans in the future.”
Original cosponsors include Republican Georgia Representatives Rick Allen, Buddy Carter, Brian Jack, Barry Loudermilk, Rich McCormick and Austin Scott.
Clyde explained that currently the Postal Service is required to request an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) before making any nationwide or substantially nationwide service changes. However, he said the USPS has broad discretion which allows the agency to determine whether a proposed change warrants a PRC review. Additionally, since there is no explicit deadline for the Postal Service to submit changes for review, the agency can delay submission until changes have already been implemented.
“This has resulted in the Postal Service bypassing necessary oversight, as evidenced by its unilateral decision to implement significant changes to the RPDC network in major metropolitan areas without seeking input from the PRC,” Clyde said.
By strengthening the oversight process, Clyde says his legislation aims to prevent the Postal Service from bypassing accountability and ensure that changes with significant service impacts undergo thorough review and evaluation.
The Postal Transparency and Review Act would allow Congress to intervene and disapprove of changes through a fast-tracked joint resolution pursuant to the Congressional Review Act after receiving the PRC’s advisory opinion.
This past August, Clyde led the Georgia Congressional Delegation in sending a letter to then-USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy demanding that he immediately fulfill his legal obligation to seek an advisory opinion from the PRC for the agency’s recent consolidation process in the Peach State. The Postal Service responded to this letter by announcing the agency would finally seek an advisory opinion from the PRC on its “Delivering for America” plan, which encompassed the changes made in Georgia.
In January, the PRC published its advisory opinion, which found that the Postal Service’s plan depends on “defective modeling” and does not appear ready for implementation. Additionally, the opinion notes that the USPS’s proposal relies on “overly optimistic financial projections for cost savings” and has “significant negative impacts on rural communities throughout the United States.”
