Tester Presses USPS Board of Governors Nominees on Fixing Mail Delays in Montana & Need to Remove Postmaster General DeJoy

Senator: “Dependable mail service is a cornerstone of life in Montana… but under DeJoy’s failed leadership, USPS has not been living up to the challenge and that’s unacceptable”

U.S. Senator Jon Tester today met with President Joe Biden’s nominees for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors, and pressed them to address crippling delays in mail delivery and to work to maintain full USPS service for rural Montana.

Tester also urged the nominees to push back against harmful plans for the agency currently being pushed by the current Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, such as higher postal rates, slower delivery standards, and reduced hours and closures at “low traffic” post offices-including offices in Montana. Tester expressed to the group that he believes DeJoy should resign his current post-a move that is at the discretion of the Board of Governors.

“Dependable mail service is a cornerstone of life in Montana, and folks out here depend on mail delivery services for everything from paying bills to getting medication delivered-but under DeJoy’s failed leadership, USPS has not been living up to the challenge, and that’s unacceptable,” Tester said. “We had a frank discussion about how to turn this ship around, and I look forward to working with President Biden’s nominees, if confirmed, to ensure USPS can continue providing the critical delivery services that folks in Montana depend on.”

The USPS Board of Governors is an 11-member body that controls expenditures, reviews USPS policy and procedure, approves officer compensation, and otherwise runs USPS. It consists of nine Senate-approved Governors, the Postmaster General, and the Deputy Postmaster General. The Postmaster General is appointed and can only be removed by the Board of Governors.

The nominees Tester met with include Anton Hajjar, who previously served as counsel for the America Postal Workers Union; Amber McReynolds, CEO of the National Vote At Home Institute; and Ron Stroman, a former Deputy Postmaster General.

Tester has fought tirelessly to ensure USPS has the resources it needs to continue its vital mail delivery services during the pandemic, and led the charge to reverse DeJoy’s disastrous decision last summer to remove blue USPS mail collection boxes from locations across Montana, part of a suit of changes DeJoy has instituted that have led to slower and less reliable mail delivery.