The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General is looking into recent policy changes instituted under U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that have reportedly led to delayed and/or undelivered mail.
Congressional Democrats last week had asked Inspector General Tammy L. Whitcomb to conduct an audit of Mr. DeJoy’s actions, saying that soon after he was appointed to the position he ordered hours to be cut back at some offices and denied overtime to clerks and carriers.
“We are in receipt of the congressional request and are conducting a body of work to address concerns raised,” Agapi Doulaveris, a spokeswoman for the IG’s office, said in an email on Friday. “We cannot comment on details of ongoing work.”
The review comes as the Postal Service is warning virtually all states that the agency can’t guarantee that mail-in ballots will be delivered in time to count in the November election.
Democrats say that President Trump is intentionally sabotaging the post office as a way to undermine vote-by-mail efforts, which many states are expanding due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We just heard that @OIGUSPS is investigating all aspects of our request to audit the Postmaster General’s operational changes at @USPS & his personal conflicts of interest,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Democrat, said on Twitter. “I’ll keep using every in the toolbox to stop Trump & DeJoy from sabotaging the USPS.”
Ms. Warren and other congressional Democrats had also asked Ms. Whitcomb whether Mr. DeJoy has met proper ethics and disclosure requirements given his investments in USPS competitors or contractors.
“I take my ethical obligations seriously, and I have done what is necessary to ensure that I am and will remain in compliance with those obligations,” Mr. DeJoy said in a statement to CNN, which first reported on the OIG review.
In a Friday letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, Mr. DeJoy acknowledged that there have been “unintended consequences” to recent changes at the agency that have affected service levels.
“As I stated to our employees, the Postal Service is working feverishly to address service problems, new and old, to improve performance for the election and the upcoming peak season,” he said.
Thomas J. Marshall, USPS general counsel and executive vice president, acknowledged in a letter to Congress this week that the postal service is in a “financially unsustainable position” because of substantial declines in mail volume and a broken business model.
“We are currently unable to balance our costs with available funding sources to fulfill both our universal service mission and other legal obligations,” Mr. Marshall said in a letter to House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, New York Democrat.
Mr. Marshall said there have been no edicts to delay the mail or eliminate overtime.
In a separate letter to congressional leaders this week, Mr. Marshall said the postal service is “fully committed” to delivering election mail in a “timely manner, consistent with our delivery standards.”
“In this regard, we have ample capacity to handle the increased volume of Election Mail that will occur because of the pandemic,” he said. “But, to the extent that states choose to use the mail as part of their elections, they should do so in a manner that realistically reflects how the mail works.”
Congressional Democrats released the three letters late Friday.
In their own Friday letter, Mrs. Pelosi, Mr. Schumer, Ms. Maloney and other top Democrats demanded more information from Mr. DeJoy about potential service changes ahead of the election.
“The Postal Service should not make changes that slow down the mail or in any way compromise service for veterans, small businesses, rural communities, seniors, and millions of Americans who rely on the mail — including significant numbers of people who will be relying on the Postal Service to exercise their right to vote,” they said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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