Ranking Members Krishnamoorthi, Raskin, Mfume, Connolly Decry Proposed Forever Prince Increase, Urge Postal Regulatory Commission to Reject Rate Hike

WASHINGTON – Today, Ranking Members Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Kweisi Mfume (D-MD), and Gerry Connolly (D-VA), wrote to the Postal Regulatory Commission urging its members to prioritize delivery standards and increasing mail volume when considering yet another rate hike under the current rate review system. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is seeking an increase in the price of first-class Forever stamps from 68 cents to 73 cents. The pending rate hike, which would be the sixth such increase the United States Postal Service (USPS) has implemented since 2021, comes at a time when delivery performance is at a historic low and the USPS is plagued by record-low mail and package volumes.

“On Tuesday, April 9, the United States Postal Service filed notice of proposed price hikes pending approval by the Postal Regulatory Commission (the Commission).  The proposal is to increase first-class Forever stamp prices from 68 cents to 73 cents. This marks the sixth time since March 2021 that the Postal Service has increased postage rates.  This rate hike, if implemented, comes at a time when postal delivery performance is experiencing historic lows.  We believe that this trajectory is setting the Postal Service on a course that threatens its future as an effective, efficient, and vital American institution,” wrote the Members.

The letter from Congressman Krishnamoorthi comes months after he and Congressman Raskin were joined by 80 other Democratic House members in calling on President Joe Biden to appoint new members to the USPS’s Board of Governors, a call President Biden has responded to by nominating former Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh to fill one of the two vacant slots on the Board. The call to reject the latest attempt at a price hike also comes as Congressman Krishnamoorthi has led vocal opposition to the Postmaster General DeJoy’s plans, including the proposal to close upwards of 15,000 post offices.

The full letter can be read here.