MORGANTOWN– Sen. Joe Manchin continued his fight against abrupt changes to U.S. Postal Service operations and in a Tuesday virtual press conference highlighted a letter he sent to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy regarding equipment taken offline on the cusp of a national election.
DeJoy was appointed in May and began a restructuring process aimed at increasing efficiency that has reportedly led to service delays. The changes included eliminating most overtime, restrictions on transportation, and reducing the quantity and use of mail-processing equipment, according to news reports.
DeJoy’s actions plus remarks by President Trump about universal mail-in voting led to a political brouhaha and accusations Trump and DeJoy were trying to undermine voters’ ability to vote.
Shortly after Manchin’s press conference, DeJoy announced he is suspending any further actions until after the election. There was no word on whether he might also restore the offline Charleston machines.
Manchin commented in a release, “Postmaster General DeJoy’s announcement that changes to the Postal Service will not be made until after the election is a step in the right direction, but actions speak louder than words.
“The Postal Service must immediately reinstate all critical machines and equipment that have been idled or removed from operation since Mr. DeJoy’s tenure began and extend this moratorium on major changes through the end of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Manchin said. “This includes no closures of post offices, no reduction in hours, and the continued treatment of election mail as first-class mail.”
In July, USPS notified 40 states – including West Virginia and all of its neighbors – that their deadlines for mailing and receiving ballots may result in missed deadlines and uncounted ballots because of the speed of mail service and the increased voting-related mail volume. The National Association of Secretaries of State has requested a meeting with DeJoy that has yet to be granted.
Manchin said Tuesday that DeJoy’s lack of support for USPS’s mission “is beyond my wildest belief that this could happen in America.” Rural America in particular relies on the Postal Service; 80% of veterans nationwide receive medications through the mail. “It’s a lifeline to most West Virginians.”
Manchin said in his Monday letter to DeJoy, “I am truly astonished by the failures of your short tenure in the role of Postmaster General. You must change your attitude towards USPS and take seriously the responsibilities of public service.”
Manchin toured four USPS facilities on Friday, including the Morgantown Distribution Annex off Grafton Road. On Monday, he toured the Charleston Processing and Distribution Center. It sorts mail for one of the largest, if not the single largest, areas in the country, he said: all of West Virginia except Wheeling, western Virginia, eastern Kentucky and Ohio, northern Tennessee and southwest Pennsylvania.
During the Charleston tour, he learned that three of 17 Delivery Bar Code Sorter machines and one of four Advanced Facer Canceler System machines were out of service, and one of two Automated Flat Sorter Machines is slated to be put out of service soon – with corresponding reduction in capacity.
He urged DeJoy to put the machines back into service.
“Now more than ever,” Manchin wrote, “Americans depend on USPS to deliver food, medicine, and other essential items. They need the Charleston P&DC operating at full capacity. These machines must be immediately reinstated. I find it unconscionable to think that these machines were deliberately idled, but if such direction was given by USPS leadership, you should be ashamed. I request you make any documents associated with the directive public and allow the USPS Inspector General to thoroughly investigate the matter.”
Manchin said he was irked that the press was barred on Friday and Monday from touring the facilities with him and that USPS officials and workers were not allowed to speak to him. He wrote to DeJoy, “Perhaps the most troubling part of my visit to the Charleston P&DC today was the fear in each and every postal worker’s eyes as I tried to speak with them about the challenges facing USPS.
“It was clear to me,” he said, “that they had been instructed not to speak, and it was truly heartbreaking to see the good men and women of the Postal Service muzzled from sharing their perspective on the front lines with their duly elected representative in Washington.”
Manchin said that President Trump, supported by DeJoy, is making these changes to USPS before the election in order to build a foundation of blame in case Trump loses.
As previously reported, Trump opposes universal mail-in voting and stood against a proposal to include $25 billion to support USPS operations in the next COVID relief package, saying the money would aid efforts for mail-in voting. He eased up on that on Friday, saying he would sign a bill with the funding in exchange for Democrat concessions, but still opposes universal mail-in voting.
DeJoy said in his Tuesday statement, “The Postal Service is ready today to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives this fall. Even with the challenges of keeping our employees and customers safe and healthy as they operate amid a pandemic, we will deliver the nation’s election mail on time and within our well-established service standards.”
DeJoy said he was hired to make USPS sustainable and significant reforms are needed. But some initiatives put in place before he came aboard have raised questions and he’s suspending them “to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail,”
Retail hours will be unchanged, he said; equipment and mail collection boxes will remain in place; no processing facilities will be closed; overtime will continue to be approved as needed. “In addition, effective Oct. 1, we will engage standby resources in all areas of our operations, including transportation, to satisfy any unforeseen demand.”
Manchin noted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi planned to call the House back to D.C. On Friday to vote on legislation to block any USPS change. And the Senate Homeland Security Committee will be holding a hearing on DeJoy’s actions.
Manchin said that any needed USPS reforms should wait until after the election and the pandemic. “I’m fine with us looking at evaluating where the post office wants to go afterwards.” Proposals should be transparent and be brought before Congress to justify the need for the changes.
The Dominion Post asked Sen. Shelley Moore Capito to comment on the USPS issues. She said in an email exchange, “I’ve said before that our post offices are an integral part of our small communities in West Virginia. I understand the importance of protecting rural post offices from being unfairly targeted as a cost saving measure. That’s why I supported the $10 billion in borrowing authority that was provided to the Postal Service in the CARES Act, which I voted for and became law.
“USPS and the U.S. Treasury recently reached an agreement on the terms and conditions of the $10 billion provided in the CARES Act,” she said. “This financing will help meet the immediate needs of the Postal Service. I support the Postmaster General in his decision to suspend changes to the Postal Service until after the election. Regardless, I encourage all West Virginians planning to vote by mail to request their ballot early to allow plenty of time for delivery. In the meantime, I will continue working with my colleagues to make sure that the Post Office can provide its important services to people across West Virginia,”
Tweet David Beard@dbeardtdp Email dbeard@dominionpost.com
