'I'm Not Naive, Sir!': Congress Wants Answers On Big Postal Service Changes DeJoy Keeps Pushing

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Josh Marshall
@joshtpm
‘I’m Not Naive, Sir!’: Congress Wants Answers On Big Postal Service Changes DeJoy Keeps Pushing https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/im-not-naive-sir-congress-wants-answers-on-big-postal-service-changes-dejoy-keeps-pushing… via @TPM

'I’m Not Naive, Sir!': Congress Wants Answers On Big Postal Service Changes DeJoy Keeps Pushing
'I’m Not Naive, Sir!': Congress Wants Answers On Big Postal Service Changes DeJoy Keeps Pushing
talkingpointsmemo.com
4:00 PM · Mar 11, 2021

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/im-not-naive-sir-congress-wants-answers-on-big-postal-service-changes-dejoy-keeps-pushing

Before entering politics, Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) spent decades at the United States Postal Service. And during a congressional hearing Thursday, she sought to get some answers about a big restructuring for the USPS, one that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has hyped for weeks without offering any details.

Lawrence pressed DeJoy, noting that the service issues currently plaguing the postal agency are unlike anything she’d seen in her 30 years at USPS. Why, she asked, hasn’t DeJoy explained his plan to Congress?

DeJoy recognized the congresswoman’s USPS service but offered a retort.

“Honestly,” he said, “the Postal Service of today and the condition we are in is not the Postal Service of 2008 when you retired.”

Lawrence wasn’t having it.

“I’m not naive, sir,” she responded. “When I left the Postal Service, I came to Congress and have had responsibility for eight years of the operations of the Postal Service, and had my thumbprint on what’s going on. So please don’t imply that I’m ignorant.”

*snip*

[TreasonousBastard]

1. I daresay Ms. Lawrence has a lot more experience and knowledge of USPS than DeJoke.

[PatSeg]

13. Yeah, DeJoy has been there about eight months

Who does he think he is fooling?

[sandensea]

26. DeJail probably assumes that everyone watches Faux News

And that those who don't, don't count anyway.

The smug bastard would be right at home in Louis XVI's court.

[rsdsharp]

2. Face. . .

meet buzz saw.

[questionseverything]

3. Dejoy needs to be arrested

He is clearly slowing, screwing up, ruining mail service which we depend on

Imagine if we had a department of orphans and only the board of orphan overseeers could hire/ fire the head of the department of orphans

But every night the appointed head ate an orphan

Are we saying the orphan eater couldn’t be arrested?

The postal board is ignoring totally illegal behavior

They need arrested along with de ass

[area51]

25. +1 n/t

[lagomorph777]

31. DeLiver DeJoy to DeJail without DeLay.

It will be DeLovely, DeLightful.

[questionseverything]

35. +1

[onecaliberal]

4. Why is this piece of shit still there?

[catbyte]

5. Because President Biden can't fire him, only the Board of Governors can and it's

currently dominated by the GQP.

From a Slate article:

If DeJoy served at the pleasure of the president, Biden surely would’ve fired him on Day One. But he doesn’t. The problem, ironically, originates from Congress’ desire to insulate USPS from politics. For most of American history, the Postal Service played an integral role in the spoils system, and postmaster general was a plum post for an ally of the president. In 1970, Congress overhauled the structure of the Postal Service to end this sordid tradition of patronage by giving the agency substantial independence. To oversee USPS’s activities, Congress established a nine-member board of governors who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. No more than five members of the board may belong to the same political party. Once confirmed to the board, governors can only be removed by the president “for cause”; that means their jobs are safe unless the president can show that they engaged in malfeasance or extreme neglect of duty. The board of governors, in turn, selects the postmaster general, who is not subject to Senate approval. And once appointed, the postmaster general can only be removed by the board, though it need not justify its decision.

This structure, in short, is why Louis DeJoy remains postmaster general under Biden. The board of governors is dominated by Trump appointees; Senate Republicans refused to confirm President Barack Obama’s nominees to the board, leaving vacancies that Trump promptly filled. Today, there are four Republicans and two Democrats on the board, plus three vacancies. One Democrat, Ron Bloom, is serving a holdover term, which means Biden can replace him at any time. Thus, Biden can fill four seats on the board of governors—a move that would flip the board, giving Democrats a 5–4 majority. The new president can then urge the Democratic members to remove DeJoy, which they can do by a majority vote.

Filling these vacancies is the simplest way for Biden to get rid of DeJoy, though there is no guarantee that it will actually work. The new board would include five Democrats—but one of them, Donald Lee Moak, is a Trump-appointed moderate who, along with the rest of the board, backed DeJoy when he came under fire for his alleged corruption.* It appears unlikely that Moak would choose to oust a postmaster general whom he supported through this summer’s controversy. And if Moak declined to join Biden’s nominees in firing DeJoy, the postmaster general would retain his position indefinitely.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

6. Each of the members of the board can be fired for cause; not firing DeJoy is cause enough.

[lagomorph777]

32. Biden is replacing the board; next step will be to fire DeJerk.

Then it's off to DeJail

[KS Toronado]

49. "Not firing DeJoy is cause enough"....you're 100% correct.

[WinstonSmith4740]

14. Can he be re-assigned?

Like to janitor?

[Nasruddin]

17. I remain unconvinced

I do not understand why Mr Biden hasn't either fired the entire board and had DeJoy escorted out as an emergency matter;
or had his new board appointees Senate - approved with their very first action DeJoy's immediate dismissal.

If Donald Lee Moak won't play along - bye!

DeJoy should have been DeFenestrated on 21 Jan.

[lagomorph777]

33. Biden is pushing a new board through. The usual Senate machinations will be needed.

[Mickju]

7. I can't wait to see that piece of shit brought down.

[Mr.Bill]

8. Can't we just have a woman come forward

and say DeJoy asked if he could kiss her?

Oh, wait, that only works on Democrats.

[KT2000]

9. he is one of the most arrogant

asses to come out of the previous administration. Good for Lawrence!

[keithbvadu2]

10. Throwing away million$ worth of mail sorting machines and going back to manual labor.

Throwing away million$ worth of mail sorting machines and going back to manual labor.

Surely there must be a cost-benefit analysis to make such a business decision. Let's see it.

How USPS Sorts Mail

[reACTIONary]

29. There is a business case for it...

... the volume of first class mail and other "flats" that are handled by sorting machines is going down; the volume of packages, and package revenue, is going up. Sorting machines can't sort packages, and packages require a lot of floor space. So the floor space is more important than the machines.

Like a lot of folks, I get my medications through the mail. Meds don't go through a sorting machine. The sorting machines get in the way of processing and delivering the meds.

The internet has radically changed the way we communicate and transact business. First class mail just isn't as important as it once was, and probably will will never be again.

[keithbvadu2]

36. A cost-benefit analysis would have the numbers to back it up.

A cost-benefit analysis would have the numbers to back it up.

Let's see it.

[reACTIONary]

37. There are numbers...

... this has been going on for some time; many, many years, multiple administrations, not just the last eight months. Google it.

Snail mail is on the decline and has been for a long, long time. The post office is just going to have to change and adapt. That's the reality.

[keithbvadu2]

38. Square root of minus one.

[reACTIONary]

43. The square root of minus one is ....

... a very real quantity, despite it's depreciatory name.

FYI, https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=15219222

In the end, the reality of the situation is going to force the USPS to change. Instead of pissing and moaning about it we should be proposing progressive solutions. How about we stop crying about sorting machines and advocate for building out the broadband infrastructure instead?

[keithbvadu2]

44. It is like the lack of a cost-benefit analysis.

It is like the lack of a cost-benefit analysis.

An imaginary number.

[reACTIONary]

45. Over the course of several decades, since ...

... at least 2006, there has been a constant decline in first class mail which has been tracked and been included in studies, projections and testimony.

This is nothing new. Certainly not the last eight months.

Living in the past and resentful nostalgia are not progressive values.

[LPBBEAR]

47. F**k the cost analysis......

Mail in ballots were the reason and package sorting is a smoke screen.

[reACTIONary]

53. Sorting machines...

... really had nothing to do with it. The post office has more than enough automated sorting capacity. Adding more or retaining current levels would have no affect on delivery times before, after or during the election.

The problems that were experienced leading up to the election and after were due to restrictions on overtime that were put in place by DeJoy.

Although the election is a special case that requires special attention, the post office generally should not be relying on overtime to get the job done. They should hire the number of people needed to do the job without overtime.

See this post for a note about sorting machines:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215216672#post40

[keithbvadu2]

48. Hearsay is also not a progressive value.

Hearsay is also not a progressive value.

So far there is no cost-benefit analysis.

Just the sabotage of the postal system by Trump's man DeJoy.

[reACTIONary]

50. If you are really interested in this issue...

... Try googling about the issue and read up on it.

Let me know what you find.

[keithbvadu2]

51. What I find is that you cannot back up your assertions.

What I find is that you cannot back up your assertions.

I ask for a cost-benefit analysis and all I see is hearsay.

It must not exist.

[reACTIONary]

54. Sorry if I haven't ...

... met your expectations. However, from my interactions with you, it doesn't appear to me that you are very well informed on this issue. I'm not your google lackey. Do your own research and you will be able to make an informed judgement, rather than just complaining.

[keithbvadu2]

55. That's ok. I see empty claims and you expect others to prove it for you.

That's ok.

I see empty claims and you expect others to prove it for you.

[keithbvadu2]

52. Double posted - deleting

[Joinfortmill]

11. DeJoy, the asshole.

[gratuitous]

12. The Post Office worked just fine for more than 200 years

Then Louis DeJoy got his mitts on it, and suddenly the USPS can't deliver mail on time.

When he patronizingly said, "the condition we are in is not the Postal Service of 2008 when you retired," I would have said, "So what's different? Please be specific. I know one difference between now and then is that you weren't running the place in 2008 when we could get mail timely delivered. So what else is different?"

[reACTIONary]

34. What is different now...

... is that the volume of first class mail and other "flats" that are handled by sorting machines has gone way down; the volume of packages, and package revenue, is going up. Sorting machines can't sort packages, and packages require a lot of floor space. So the floor space is more important than the machines.

According to my mail carrier, the recent problems were due to restrictions on overtime, not a lack of sorting machines.

Like a lot of folks, I get my medications through the mail. Meds don't go through a sorting machine. The sorting machines get in the way of processing and delivering the meds.

The internet has radically changed the way we communicate and transact business. First class mail just isn't as important as it once was, and probably will will never be again.

[Lonestarblue]

15. The USPS was working fine before DeJoy took over.

Congress should be asking for specific details of what he changed and why. Like why did he destroy a new million-dollar sorting machine?

Biden has nominated Democratic members for the Board of Governors. Their hearings need to be fast tracked, or are Republicans dragging their confirmation out too? Once in place, they can fire DeJoy because I think they will have the majority. If they can’t, then Biden needs to demand that the Board fire DeJoy for cause.

[reACTIONary]

30. The decommissioning of sorting machines...

... started a long time ago, well before DeJoy. According to my postal carrier, the more recent problems were triggered by restrictions on overtime, not the lack of sorting machines.

The volume of first class mail and other "flats" that are handled by sorting machines is going down; the volume of packages, and package revenue, is going up. Sorting machines can't sort packages, and packages require a lot of floor space. So the floor space is more important than the machines.

Like a lot of folks, I get my medications through the mail. Meds don't go through a sorting machine. The sorting machines get in the way of processing and delivering the meds.

The internet has radically changed the way we communicate and transact business. First class mail just isn't as important as it once was, and probably will will never be again.

[FSogol]

40. You are correct. USPS started decommissioning them back during the Bush admin (2005-ish?)

My company does engineering design work to keep their facilities operating and I've been in over 500 hundred different postal facilities over the course of the last 25 years.

DeJoy is certainly trying to wreck and grift from USPS, but not every change is due to his vandalism. Some changes are due to changes in how people use USPS.

[reACTIONary]

42. Thanks for the info nt

[orangecrush]

16. Why. Is. He. Still. There.

[maxsolomon]

46. that question has been answered repeatedly

including in this thread.

it always comes back to 1 overarching problem: THE SENATE.

[TomSlick]

18. So, NoJoy appeared in a congressional hearing and was condescending to a congress member.

What a good plan!

[Butterflylady]

19. I never realized jackasses could talk

Till I heard this one speak.

[Escurumbele]

20. Can someone explain to me why Biden has not, or cannot get rid of Dejoy that easily? It is a serious

question, I don't understand it.

Thank you in advance

[FSogol]

41. He can only be fired by the postal board of directors. Biden has nominated people for open

seats on the board and Dejoy will be removed when those people are in place.

[spooky3]

21. So he's a condescending misogynist as well as a corrupt incompetent.

I hope strings are being pulled behind the scenes to get rid of him. I know both VA Senators are pushing for it.

[turbinetree]

22. Well lying to Congress is a felony, and he sure is lying............lock him up

[Warpy]

23. DeJoy is just a corporate asshole who wants to run the USPS like one of his businesses

which is not how you run a public utility that has to work, it's only how you run a private corporation that can survive downtime.

it's why he cut personnel and trashed what he saw as redundant machinery. He just doesn't get it, typical Republican know it all.

Having a boss who was hostile to the USPS must have made him giddy with glee.

I hope he has to face tough questions and tougher consequences.

[bdamomma]

24. DeJoy needs

to go now. Arrogant jerk.

[BobTheSubgenius]

27. It boggles the mind that this hack has the power to throttle the USPS to death.

All the while, owning 10s of millions of dollars in major competitors of the USPS. How is this not the epitome of conflict of interest and crony capitalism? It's outrageous.

[Blue Owl]

28. One of t***p's most rancid, putrid turds

Flush that fuck out before he destroys the plumbing even more

[Irish_Dem]

39. Women need to keep saying DON'T PATRONIZE ME YOU JACKASS.

[Jilly_in_VA]

56. I would like to see

Katie Porter go after this jackass with her whiteboard.

[LittleGirl]

57. We receive very little mail from the US

But since October, that mail is lost!
Our magazines have been 6 weeks late! My girlfriend sent me mail on January 2nd and it still has not arrived here in Switzerland! It’s his fault!