Postmaster General DeJoy postpones cost-saving measure until after election

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said Tuesday that the U.S. Postal Service is ready to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives this fall but that he will postpone several cost-saving initiatives “to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail.” 

“Even with the challenges of keeping our employees and customers safe and healthy as they operate amid a pandemic, we will deliver the nation’s election mail on time and within our well-established service standards,” DeJoy said in a statement, amid concerns that cost-cutting measures could delay the delivery and counting of mail-in ballots for the November elections.

DeJoy is set to testify Monday before a House committee on the measures, which have sparked concerns and become the latest flashpoint in this presidential election cycle. The Democrat-controlled House is set to vote Saturday on legislation that attempts to give Congress oversight on the Postal Service. 

DeJoy also announced that he’s expanding the leadership task force on election mail and that union leaders have committed to joining the effort. He said the cost-cutting measure will be suspended until after the November elections.

DeJoy said retail hours at post offices will not change; mail processing equipment and blue collection boxes will remain in place; no mail processing facilities will be closed; and the agency will reassert that overtime has, and will continue to be, approved as needed.

DeJoy also said that effective Oct. 1, the agency will engage standby resources and that some of the cost-related measures predates him becoming postmaster general. 

"I came to the Postal Service to make changes to secure the success of this organization and its long-term sustainability," he said. "I believe significant reforms are essential to that objective, and work toward those reforms will commence after the election."