WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released the latest data showing that despite continued congressional oversight and multiple court orders, Postmaster General DeJoy has still failed to fully restore mail performance at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to the average levels prior to his July 2020 operational changes that caused severe mail delays across the country. Today’s update shows on-time performance continues to follow similar trends as the investigative update Peters released on last week’s performance, including serious ongoing delays in the Detroit area and other parts of the country.
“It is unacceptable that on-time mail delivery has not been restored to levels prior to the Postmaster General carelessly instituting his disastrous operational changes,” said Senator Peters. “This data clearly shows that my constituents in Michigan and people across the country continue to bear the brunt of these delays, including seniors, veterans, small business owners and others who count on the mail. I will continue working to ensure Michiganders can once again rely on the Postal Service not only through the pandemic and the election, but for years to come.”
READ PETERS’ INVESTIGATIVE UPDATE
The update shows that from October 10–16, the most recent week for which data is available, the Postal Service delivered only 85.6% of First-Class mail on time, 5.5 percentage points below the on-time delivery rates prior to Postmaster General DeJoy’s July 2020 directives. Across the nation, on-time delivery performance remains below the average levels during the 8-week period prior to the July changes, in 60 of the 67 Postal Districts. Despite multiple requests, Peters has not yet received information from USPS leadership as to how these delays may be impacting election mail, although USPS has recently issued detailed guidance on expediting election mail. Peters’ update shows that on-time First-Class Mail performance was below 80% in ten Districts across the country, up from six just a week prior, including in parts of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), Maryland (Baltimore), Northern Ohio, Colorado/Wyoming, Alabama, the District of Columbia, and Michigan (Detroit). The update also shows that across Michigan, on-time delivery rates have declined dramatically in recent weeks.
In Michigan, during the same time period, only 71.6% of First-Class mail was delivered on time in the Detroit District – the second worst performance of any District in the country for the most recent time period for which data is available. In the Greater Michigan District, on-time delivery has trended downward in recent weeks. During the week of October 10–16, service performance declined by 1.6 percentage points from the previous week to 84.5% on-time delivery. This is the lowest on-time delivery rate experienced in the Greater Michigan District in over two months.
As Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Peters has fought to protect the Postal Service and its 245-year tradition of mail delivery. Peters recently released a report detailing the results of his investigation into how operational changes at the Postal Service ordered by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy resulted in compromised service for Americans. He has also introduced the Delivering for America Act , which would block DeJoy from making any more changes during the pandemic, require DeJoy to reverse changes which have caused mail delays, and provide $25 billion in funding to USPS.
###