We would like to thank Sen. Joe Manchin for being one of three senators to introduce the Delivering Envelopes Judiciously On-time Year-round Act (or the sassily named DEJOY Act for short) in the U.S. Senate, an identical twin to a bill by the same name introduced in the House back in late March.
The DEJOY Act essentially blocks Postmaster General Louis DeJoy from implementing his 10-year plan for the U.S. Postal Service. DeJoy’s plan would weaken the USPS and hinder its ability to reliably and punctually deliver mail. Currently, first-class mail should be delivered in 1-3 days, but according to The Washington Post, DeJoy’s proposal would extend delivery to 3-5 days for 30% of first-class mail and would increase the cost.
The DEJOY Act reads simply, “Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the service standards for first-class mail shall be the standards that were in effect on Jan. 1, 2021.’’ According to the USPS, first-class mail is the letters, postcards, flat envelopes and small packages people send regularly, like cards you send to family or paper bills.
Because the legislation immortalizes standards in effect as of the beginning of this year, we’re not sure how much it will do to reverse the damage DeJoy has already wrought on our postal system, but we’re glad to see Congress take steps to rein in any further carnage, and we’re glad to see Manchin spearheading the effort. Now we just need Sen. Shelley Moore Capito to get on board, especially considering that rural states, such as the one she represents, depend on a quick and reliable postal service.
