Although a problem or issue may have been around for years, it seems to draw no political attention until it begins to generate headlines. At that point, politicians fall over each other rushing to the microphones and TV cameras to issue statements (or to make speeches on the floor of the House or Senate), usually to remind the voters back home that they’re working hard to fix the problem but someone else is blocking their success.
The current postal crisis has been brewing for years but couldn’t buy political attention until this year, when the gravity of the situation began to get media coverage and the call for Congressional action got louder. Nonetheless, when the Postal Service announced plans to reduce First-Class Mail service standards and close hundreds of processing centers, even more politicians suddenly came out of the woodwork to expound about what’s wrong with the USPS and why.
So it was on December 5 (the day the USPS announcement came out) that Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR 4th) asked the Obama administration to fire PMG Pat Donahoe for advancing the plan for service reductions. (Apparently, in his rush to make a statement, DeFazio failed to note that the PMG reports to the USPS governors, not the White House.)
As reported by The Hill, DeFazio stated “This guy, this so-called postmaster general, should be fired because of a lack of any imagination or initiative. He’s proposing the death knell for the great United States Postal Service.” Reportedly, DeFazio also blamed the administration for failing to help the USPS find a way out of its fiscal problems, adding “the White House continues to be totally silent, absent from this debate.”
Next, DeFazio blamed House Republicans for rejecting proposals that would allow the USPS to take back some of the $7 billion it’s overpaid to employee retirement funds, and alleged they were expecting the private sector to “take over” some USPS functions. He also claimed cuts to rural service are ahead and that “people will be deprived of any meaningful service."
The news report did not mention whether DeFazio has any plans to remedy the postal situation now that he’s determined everyone else's actions are ineffective.
(This commentary, along with further analysis of the USPS rate changes, closings, MTAC happenings, and more, available in the most recent Postal Points, Issue 11-17.)