Oct. 7, 2021
Carson
City, NV
– Today, Attorney General Aaron D. Ford joined a coalition of 20 attorneys
general in submitting a formal complaint asking the Postal Regulatory
Commission to order that the U.S. Postal Service request an advisory opinion on
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s ten-year plan to transform the Postal Service.
In the complaint, the coalition argues that the plan will
transform nearly every aspect of the Postal Service, resulting in slower
service standards for some mail and other negative quality of life changes for
users. According to an analysis by The Washington Post, 70% of first-class mail
sent to Nevada will take longer to arrive under the plan.
“This plan is merely the latest proposal from Postmaster
General DeJoy that would damage the nation’s postal service,” said AG Ford. “I
believe the Postal Regulatory Commission should intervene in order to stop the
further degradation of public service that will affect every American. The Postal
Service must be given the best tools to succeed in its original mission to
provide the nation with reliable, affordable and universal mail service.”
The coalition submitted the complaint to the Postal
Regulatory Commission, an independent federal agency that provides transparency
and accountability to the Postal Service. The complaint asserts that Postmaster
General DeJoy adopted a ten-year plan that will make significant changes to
postal services without first obtaining an advisory opinion from the
Commission. Under federal law, the Postal Service must first go to the
Commission whenever it makes a change to postal services that will affect the
entire country.
Congress empowered the Commission to provide expert
advice and oversight to the Postal Service — oversight that is sorely needed
after Postmaster General DeJoy implemented operational changes in summer 2020
that caused nationwide mail delays.
The complaint requests that the Commission order the
Postal Service to request a review of the full extent of the ten-year plan,
affording the states and the public an opportunity to provide comment.
In filing the complaint, AG Ford joins the attorneys general
of California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York,
North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Rhode Island and Washington.
The complaint is attached.
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