Chairman Connolly to Hold Field Hearing on Postal Service’s Poor Performance and Mail Theft in Philadelphia

Aug 31, 2022
Press Release

Washington D.C. (August 31, 2022)—On Wednesday, September 7, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, will hold a field hearing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to examine drops in the U.S. Postal Service’s mail delivery performance, recent increases in postal mail theft and crime, and whether the Postal Service is prepared to effectively receive and deliver mail-in ballots nationally during the upcoming election cycle.

 

In 2020, Postal Service senior staff, including the Postmaster General, began making consequential operational changes to mail and package delivery without consulting customers and, as a result, mail delivery service across the U.S. plummeted.  In Philadelphia, the on-time delivery rate for mail that should take three-to-five days to deliver was just 61.9% in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021.  While delivery rates have improved nationwide and in Pennsylvania, some of this improvement is the result of new service delivery standards that extend delivery targets, making it easier to achieve on-time delivery.

 

In recent years, postal mail theft has also emerged as a rampant problem.  Between 2018 and 2021, robberies of mail carriers more than tripled, and robberies involving a gun more than quadrupled.  However, in 2020, the Postal Service put a new policy in place that prevented Postal Police officers from investigating mail theft that doesn’t take place on USPS property.

 

At approximately 2:00 p.m. ET, at the conclusion of the field hearing, Chairman Connolly and members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation will hold a press conference to recap the information uncovered at the hearing.

 

WHAT:  

 

Subcommittee on Government Operations hearing entitled “Delivering for Pennsylvania:  Examining Postal Service Delivery and Operations from the Cradle of Liberty”

 

WHEN:

 

WHERE:

Wednesday, September 7, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. ET

 

Temple University

1810 Liacouras Walk Building – 5th Floor

Philadelphia, PA 19122
 

WHO:    

 

Ivan Butts

President

National Association of Postal Supervisors

 

Gary Vaccarella
DE-PA2 District Manager
U.S. Postal Service

 

Melinda Perez

Assistant Inspector General for Audit

U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General

Frank Albergo
National President
Postal Police Officers Association

WATCH:

A livestream will be available on YouTube and the Committee on Oversight and Reform website.

 

PRESS CONFERENCE:

 

WHEN:

2:00 p.m. ET (or immediately following the hearing)

 

 

WHERE:

Temple University

1810 Liacouras Walk Building – 5th Floor

Philadelphia, PA 19122

 

 

 

 

WHO:    

 

Rep. Gerald E. Connolly

Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations

 

Rep. Brendan F. Boyle

Member of Congress, Second District of Pennsylvania

 

Rep. Dwight Evans
Member of Congress, Third District of Pennsylvania


Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon

Member of Congress, Fifth District of Pennsylvania

 

Rep. Madeleine Dean

Member of Congress, Fourth District of Pennsylvania

 

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan

Member of Congress, Sixth District of Pennsylvania

 

WATCH:

A livestream of the press conference will be available on the Committee on Oversight and Reform Facebook page.

117th Congress