WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) responded to testimony from U.S. Postmaster Louis DeJoy on Friday, expressing concern over inconsistency with DeJoy’s explanation of recent changes within the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
Hassan said that in the testimony, DeJoy vacillated between saying that the changes were typical and necessary and that he did not have enough information to comment on the changes. DeJoy, a donor to President Donald Trump’s election campaign, was appointed to the position in June without any prior related experience. The changes began to occur in July.
In Manchester alone, Hassan said that a total of five machines had been placed out of service. One of those machines was specialized sorting machine that had been sold for scrap, with the other reported out-of-service for a period on Thursday.
Although she secured a commitment from DeJoy not to punish USPS workers who bring light to these issues and others concerns, such as the fact that Manchester postal workers may not be able to send out all mail that arrives on a given day, she expressed concern over DeJoy’s decision. DeJoy added that he was unaware of how the replacement process regarding the machines occurred until last week.
“You’ve already said though today that it’s not necessary,” Senator Hassan replied. “When we have only one machine that can do a certain kind of sorting in our largest distribution center in the state of New Hampshire and it breaks and everything has to stop until it gets fixed again, that’s not efficient, that delays delivery. By refusing to restart or replace these machines you’re really sabotaging the Postal Services’ ability to sort mail efficiently and you’re undermining Postal workers’ commitment to that every day delivery.”
Hassan was unsure if these machines, or others across the country disconnected or decommissioned by DeJoy were reaching the end of their normal operational life. However, she expressed concern that there seemed to be no clear strategy for replacing these machines if that was the case. In particular, she felt that these changes were made arbitrarily and during a time when more mail might be expected than normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic and this fall’s state and federal election.
The Senator did not directly comment on concerns raised this summer by some that DeJoy’s changes are connected to Trump’s comments related to the changes and mail-in voting. However, she felt that Friday’s Senate hearing on the changes was important given that her office has received a substantial number of concerns from constituents regarding local mail service and oversight is needed to ensure confidence in the USPS.
“There were a lot of concerns about his testimony,” said Hassan. “I’m going to continue to push for answers.” Full testimony from the hearing can be seen below, Hassan’s comments came at approximately the 1:20:00 mark.
Hassan also said she would continue to push Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to come back to the table on negotiations surrounding the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which includes funding for the USPS.
A standalone vote on H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act, which would provide $25 billion for the USPS, is expected this Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH) filed two amendments to, related to the postal machine changes made in Manchester.
Pappas’s first amendment would require that any mail sorting machine that has been taken offline since January 1, 2020, be returned to service within 15 days of the passage of the bill. It was reported earlier this week that the Goffs Falls Road processing center put at least four of its mail sorting machines out of commission.
Pappas’s second amendment would require the U.S. Postal Service to submit a report to Congress detailing mail sorting machines (and other similar equipment) that have been sold, destroyed, or discarded by the United States Postal Service since January 1, 2020.
“We must do all we can to stand up for the U.S. Postal Service so that our hardworking postal workers can continue doing their job for the American people,” said Pappas. “Throughout this pandemic, we’ve seen just how critical the Postal Service is for our small businesses, for delivering life-saving medication, for staying connected, and for casting a ballot. I filed these amendments because we need to stop the attack on the USPS and reverse the damage that’s already been done. We need to say loudly and clearly to the Postmaster General that when it comes to removing machinery and slowing down our mail: hands off.”