Heitkamp Statement on Administration's Proposal to Privatize the U.S. Postal Service

Statement

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp issued the following statement after the administration released a plan today to reform and reorganize several federal agencies, including a proposal to restructure and privatize the U.S. Postal Service.

"As Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management, I agree that improving efficiency across government agencies should be a high priority. And as someone who has been very engaged on postal issues, I recognize the need to address the Postal Service's financial solvency and delivery challenges. But we can't pursue a careless solution that's dramatically opposed to the best interests of rural communities and small town businesses," said Heitkamp. "I've long said that there is no substitute for the Postal Service in rural America, so I'm deeply concerned that privatizing this critical agency would put timely and affordable mail delivery in North Dakota in jeopardy. Families and businesses depend on accessible and affordable mail service to obtain everything from daily newspapers to lifesaving medications -- and while the administration may think a privatized Postal Service would be a sustainable business model, it would also endanger a vital lifeline for North Dakota's rural residents. I've long pushed to address the root causes of the Postal Service's financial difficulties, and that's why earlier this year I helped introduce a bipartisan postal reform bill to help revitalize the agency and prevent a taxpayer-funded bailout. I'll keep fighting for smart, commonsense postal reform, because privatization would leave rural America behind."

The Postal Service operates at the center of a $1.4 trillion industry that employs more than 7 million people. It's a lifeline for rural residents in North Dakota and across the country, as residents depend on the Postal Service for mail, prescription drugs, bills, and packages. According to a 2015 Inspector General for the Postal Service report, North Dakota had the lowest decline in originating First-Class Single-Piece Mail volume in the nation from 1995 to 2013, demonstrating rural North Dakota's continued reliance on the Postal Service to support jobs, schools, family farms, and businesses in rural communities.

In March, Heitkamp introduced her bipartisan bill to improve U.S. Postal Service operations, service, and transparency to stabilize and preserve the U.S. Postal Service. Heitkamp's compromise legislation would put the Postal Service-- which processes and delivers nearly half of the world's mail without using any taxpayer dollars to operate-- on a path to financial stability and help prevent a taxpayer-funded bailout of the agency.

Heitkamp's bipartisan bill would make key changes to mandated prefunding requirements, as well as employee and retiree health care by creating a new health benefits plan for postal employees and retirees, and requiring Medicare-eligible retirees and employees to enroll in Medicare. These changes would save a significant amount of money over time, protect employee benefits in retirement, prevent the disruption of critical postal services in rural areas, and protect the American taxpayer. Heitkamp's bill would also prioritize strong service reforms that put the postal customer first by improving mail service performance across the country while also requiring transparency and enforcement to ensure the Postal Service's accountability.

Heitkamp's efforts to reform the Postal Service build on her Fix My Mail initiative, which she launched in 2014 to gather feedback from North Dakotans about challenges with their mail delivery and service. Throughout the years-long effort, she has heard from hundreds of North Dakotans about problems with mail delivery, and she brought those stories to the Postal Service to push for changes.

In 2016, Heitkamp launched her Fix My Mail survey to gather feedback from North Dakotans about challenges with their mail delivery and service. The survey was inspired by her original Fix My Mail initiative, which she started in January 2014 when she heard from more than 200 North Dakotans about their frequently poor mail delivery. Those stories prompted the Postal Service to take action in North Dakota, and at Heitkamp's request, the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General issued a report confirming the problems North Dakotans had shared with Heitkamp.

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