Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Postal Regulatory Commission chairman Michael Kubayanda aren’t exactly pen pals. DeJoy, who runs the Postal Service, has accused the PRC of overstepping its bounds and limiting the agency’s ability to improve its finances. At a recent House hearing, the postmaster general claimed the PRC “sat over and watched the destruction of the organization over the last 15 years and (was) actively participating in the destruction of the organization the last 15 years.”

The PRC has often saved the USPS from losing even more money and diving into dubious business ideas. It’ll take a more proactive, consumer-friendly PRC to increase transparency and get the service on a firmer fiscal footing. The USPS can deliver for the American people only with the PRC in the front seat.

Created in the early 2000s, the PRC has served as a valuable check on the USPS’ dubious decision-making. Ten years ago, the PRC rejected a permanent three-cent increase in first-class stamp prices (from 46 cents to 49 cents), stating that, while the previous recession had made things difficult for the USPS, the downturn “does not eliminate the Postal Service’s obligation to respond to revenue losses by reducing costs or improving efficiency.”

The price hike would have to be a temporary measure to mitigate losses from the recession, not a blank check to subsidize an overbuilt network. The PRC stuck to its guns, and the exigent charge was removed in 2016. While stamp prices have risen considerably since then, they’d likely have soared even higher and outpaced inflation had it not been for prudent postal regulators.

PRC officials have also been at work ensuring that the USPS right-sizes its network and controls costs. America’s mail carrier has shuttered plenty of post offices, but plenty of these post offices have remained in legal limbo for far too long. By the end of fiscal year 2021, 450 post offices were “suspended” by the agency but not fully closed. Full closure would mean going through a lengthy administrative process, something that the USPS wanted to avoid even if it could sell the buildings and save taxpayer dollars by going through with the process.

Dissatisfied with the suspension backlog, the PRC launched a public inquiry docket in 2022 and nudged the USPS to expedite the process. These efforts have paid off. The USPS made more than 100 final decisions to discontinue operations at post offices in 2022, clearing the way for infrastructure sales, network rationalization and more efficient labor allocation. 

The USPS could be doing far more to cut post office costs. A 2021 report by its inspector general notes, “Among nearly 13,000 underwater post offices, one-quarter are within three miles of another post office and more than half are within five miles.” Still, it’s encouraging that the PRC is actively pushing the agency in the right direction.

There are plenty of suggestions on how to expand the PRC’s ability to govern the USPS. In a recent white paper, Kubayanda, former Rep. Tom Davis, R-Virginia, and former USPS inspector general and board member Dave Williams offer proposed reforms to improve the postal regulatory system. One promising idea is to collect all USPS cost, revenue and performance data in one place. Excel sheets containing this data are scattered all over the PRC’s website, making it difficult for stakeholders to assess problems in the postal portfolio. Additionally, the white paper called for greater citizen participation in postal policy (through advisory committees) and more regular PRC analysis of postal finances and service shortfalls.

The PRC should strive to better itself and take on a more proactive role. The postmaster general and PRC chairman must work closely together to ensure America’s mail carrier delivers for the American people. The PRC is needed now more than ever.