[House Hearing, 119 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
AN UPDATE ON MAIL THEFT AND CRIME
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
of the
COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JULY 23, 2025
__________
Serial No. 119-43
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
[GRAPHIC(s) NOT AVAILANLE IN TIFF FORMAT
Available on: govinfo.gov, oversight.house.gov or docs.house.gov
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
61-721 PDF WASHINGTON : 2025
COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM
JAMES COMER, Kentucky, Chairman
Jim Jordan, Ohio Robert Garcia, California, Ranking
Mike Turner, Ohio Minority Member
Paul Gosar, Arizona Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of
Virginia Foxx, North Carolina Columbia
Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts
Michael Cloud, Texas Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois
Gary Palmer, Alabama Ro Khanna, California
Clay Higgins, Louisiana Kweisi Mfume, Maryland
Pete Sessions, Texas Shontel Brown, Ohio
Andy Biggs, Arizona Melanie Stansbury, New Mexico
Nancy Mace, South Carolina Maxwell Frost, Florida
Pat Fallon, Texas Summer Lee, Pennsylvania
Byron Donalds, Florida Greg Casar, Texas
Scott Perry, Pennsylvania Jasmine Crockett, Texas
William Timmons, South Carolina Emily Randall, Washington
Tim Burchett, Tennessee Suhas Subramanyam, Virginia
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Yassamin Ansari, Arizona
Lauren Boebert, Colorado Wesley Bell, Missouri
Anna Paulina Luna, Florida Lateefah Simon, California
Nick Langworthy, New York Dave Min, California
Eric Burlison, Missouri Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts
Eli Crane, Arizona Rashida Tlaib, Michigan
Brian Jack, Georgia Vacancy
John McGuire, Virginia
Brandon Gill, Texas
------
Mark Marin, Staff Director
James Rust, Deputy Staff Director
Mitch Benzine, General Counsel
Lauren Hassett, Professional Staff Member
Bill Womack, Senior Advisor
Mallory Cogar, Deputy Director of Operations and Chief Clerk
Contact Number: 202-225-5074
Robert Edmonson, Minority Staff Director
Contact Number: 202-225-5051
------
Subcommittee On Government Operations
Pete Sessions, Texas, Chairman
Virginia Foxx, North Carolina Kweisi Mfume, Maryland, Ranking
Gary Palmer, Alabama Minority Member
Tim Burchett, Tennessee Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of
Brian Jack, Georgia Columbia
Brandon Gill, Texas Maxwell Frost, Florida
Emily Randall, Washington
C O N T E N T S
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OPENING STATEMENTS
Page
Hon. Pete Sessions, U.S. Representative, Chairman................ 1
Hon. Maxwell Frost, U.S. Representative.......................... 2
WITNESSES
Mr. Brendan Donahue, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal
Inspection Service
Oral Statement................................................... 4
Mr. Julius Rothstein, Deputy Inspector General, U.S. Postal
Service Office of Inspector General
Oral Statement................................................... 7
Mr. Brian Renfroe, President, National Association of Letter
Carriers
Oral Statement................................................... 9
Mr. Frank Albergo, President, Postal Police Officers Association
Oral Statement................................................... 11
Mr. Anthony Holloway, Chief of Police, St. Petersburg, Florida
Police Department
Oral Statement................................................... 12
Written opening statements and bios are available on the U.S.
House of Representatives Document Repository at:
docs.house.gov.
INDEX OF DOCUMENTS
* Statement for the Record, ABA; submitted by Rep. Mfume.
* Statement for the Record, National Association of Postal
Supervisors; submitted by Rep. Sessions.
The documents listed above are available at: docs.house.gov.
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS
* Questions for the Record: Mr. Albergo; submitted by Rep.
Foxx.
* Questions for the Record: Mr. Albergo; submitted by Rep.
Mfume.
* Questions for the Record: Mr. Donahue; submitted by Rep.
Foxx.
* Questions for the Record: Mr. Donahue; submitted by Rep.
Mfume.
* Questions for the Record: Mr. Holloway; submitted by Rep.
Foxx.
* Questions for the Record: Mr. Holloway; submitted by Rep.
Frost.
* Questions for the Record: Mr. Renfroe; submitted by Rep.
Foxx.
* Questions for the Record: Mr. Renfroe; submitted by Rep.
Mfume.
* Questions for the Record: Mr. Rothstein; submitted by Rep.
Foxx.
* Questions for the Record: Mr. Rothstein; submitted by Rep.
Mfume.
These documents were submitted after the hearing, and may be
available upon request.
AN UPDATE ON MAIL THEFT AND CRIME
----------
WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2025
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Subcommittee on Government Operations
Washington, D.C.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:06 p.m., in
room HVC-210, U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Hon. Pete Sessions
[Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Sessions, Foxx, Palmer, Burchett,
Mfume, Norton, Frost, and Randall.
Mr. Sessions. Subcommittee on Government Operations will
come to order.
I would like to welcome everyone. Without objection, the
Chair may declare a recess at any time.
I recognize myself for the purpose of making an opening
statement.
Before we go too far, we are being visited today by an
honorable, distinguished veteran of the United States military.
And as I was describing to a fellow--a Marine, a gentleman who
served our country as a Marine, I said, well, this guy, General
Al Zapanta, retired two-star Special Forces, United States
Army. And he said, yeah, the Army is kind of like the Armed
Services.
So, General Zapanta, if you would please stand up and be
recognized for your service. Thank you very much.
[Applause.]
Mr. Sessions. In fairness, if there are others who have
served our United States military, if you would please take
time and stand up and let us honor you also.
That would be the great Bill Womack, United States Marine
Corps.
[Applause.]
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN PETE SESSIONS REPRESENTATIVE FROM
TEXAS
Mr. Sessions. Today's hearing regards the Postal Service's
response to mail theft and crime. I just took a few minutes and
met again our guests who are here today to provide us leading-
edge ideas about exactly that issue.
The Postal Service is charged with delivering mail to every
address in our Nation six days a week. Within that system,
there are numerous points where bad actors attempt to steal
mail and harm people who work for the United States Postal
Service and others.
It is common for myself and other Members of Congress to
hear about mail theft from our constituents. In fact, we hear
things most days, one way or another, about frustrations as it
is related to mail security. The Postal Inspection Service, the
Postal Service law enforcement arm is responding by creating a
strategy called Project Safe Delivery to combat mail theft.
While progress has been made, Congress has certainly been
informed that criminals have increasingly begun to target
letter carriers also. There has been an 845 percent increase in
letter carrier robberies from 2019 to 2023. As such, this
Subcommittee on Government Operations is a part of trying to
make sure we are staying on top of this issue and to advise our
colleagues.
Congress needs to ensure that the Postal Service is
responding to these threats and keeping not just letter
carriers safe, but the United States--entire United States
postal system. Mail theft creates distrust in the system, and
we need to make sure that more people have not just confidence,
but that fewer people are taken advantage of.
For this reason, addressing mail theft and related crime is
a key to supporting the United States Postal Service in its
goal to become self-sufficient. I look forward to a robust
discussion.
We believed, and Mr. Mfume believed, that this was timely
some months ago. We have chosen today, well before the
Thanksgiving and Christmas season, but certainly in time to
make sure that we hear from each of you about this, and I am
delighted that you are here today.
One thing that you will learn today that you may not know,
and that is the Government Operations Subcommittee and
government workforce works on a bipartisan basis. We work
carefully, Mr. Mfume, myself, and the gentleman who sits to my
right today, Mr. Frost, is a prime example of a person who has
come to this Subcommittee with the idea we are going to get
away from fight and go to fix.
So, I am delighted today to welcome the distinguished
gentleman from Florida, Mr. Frost, for an opening statement.
The gentleman is recognized.
OPENING STATEMENT OF MAXWELL FROST
REPRESENTATIVE FROM FLORIDA
Mr. Frost. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. And thank you
so much to our witnesses for being here today.
Appreciate this hearing on one of the most pressing
challenges facing the Postal Service, the recent surge of
crimes committed against the United States mail system and
postal employees. Postal crimes threaten the safety of our
letter carriers and disrupt the lives of millions of Americans
who depend on reliable and secure mail delivery.
The data we will hear today paints a troubling picture.
Between fiscal years 2019 and 2023, serious crimes against the
postal employees nearly doubled nationwide. Attacks on letter
carriers increased by more than sevenfold during the same
period.
In the Fiscal Year 2024 alone, the United States Postal
Service received more than 268,000 complaints; 100,000
complaints of mail and volume of receptacle theft, which is
roughly the same level of complaints received in the Fiscal
Year 2020.
Meanwhile, postal inspectors opened over 1,100 cases,
representing just half of one percent of reported incidents. I
commend the power of the postal inspectors who achieved an 89
percent clearance rate in the Fiscal Year 2024 for mail theft
arrests versus convictions, but the human costs of these crimes
cannot be captured by the data alone.
Our letter carriers are dedicated public servants who
ensure Americans receive critical information, documents,
ballots, medication, and personal letters. And yet, they are
the ones being targeted, assaulted, and robbed at high rates.
The theft of universal arrow keys that letter carriers use
to unlock mailboxes in bulk have surged from over 1,300 reports
in 2020 to more than 3,400 reports in 2024. In October 2024, a
letter carrier based in Baltimore was robbed at knife point on
their route so the thief could steal a package. These acts are
abhorrent.
Mail fraud is another disturbingly, yet sadly prevalent,
part of postal-related crimes. In 2023, check fraud schemes
involving the Postal Service resulted in an estimate $688
million in losses.
In March 2025, a U.S. district judge sentenced the man in
Baltimore for exploiting the Postal Service to engage in elder
fraud schemes of more than $700,000. These crimes destroy
lives.
Unfortunately, independent oversight bodies have found gaps
in the Postal Service response to this crime. The Postal
Service is working to implement their recommendations, but
ongoing independent, nonpartisan oversight is critical to
ensure continued transparency and accountability.
That is why two years into the launch of Project Safe
Delivery, our Ranking Member, Mr. Mfume, led a letter to
request that the GAO conduct a review of implementation and
results of the initiative. I look forward to reading those
findings.
The Postal Service has a constitutional mandate and is the
lifeline of millions of Americans, particularly in rural
communities and hard-to-reach areas. When thieves target our
mail system, they attack the foundation Americans--American
commerce and communication.
It is crucial that the Postal Service has the resources,
authority, and strategic direction needed to protect letter
carriers, secure the mail, and restore public's trust in the
Postal Service. Postal employees deserve a workplace where they
can deliver the mail without fear, and the American people
deserve a postal system that they can trust.
I hope this hearing serves as an important step toward
achieving that goal, but we need everyone on board to do so.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
Mr. Sessions. Mr. Frost, thank you very much. I appreciate
not just your comments, but your highlighting, once again, the
importance of today's hearing.
I am pleased to welcome our witnesses for today.
Brendan Donahue is Inspector in Charge of the United States
Postal Inspection Service.
Julius Rothstein is Deputy Inspector General at the U.S.
Postal Service Office of the Inspector General.
Brian Renfroe is the president of the National Association
of Letter Carriers.
Frank Albergo is the president of the Postal Police
Officers Association.
And then we have Chief Anthony Holloway, Chief of Police of
St. Petersburg, Florida Police Department.
I am delighted that each of you are here today, and while I
had an opportunity to come down and welcome you, I think that
the role that you are going to play today will be instrumental
to every single Member of Congress.
At this time, I would like to have each of our witnesses
stand for the administration of oath to witness. Pursuant to
Committee Rule 9(g), the witnesses will please stand and raise
their right hand.
Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony that you
are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth, so help you God?
[Chorus of ayes.]
Mr. Sessions. Let the record reflect that the witnesses
have all answered in the affirmative and we would like to thank
you very much, and please take your seat.
We appreciate your time, your professionalism, and your
conduct today to lead this Subcommittee toward better answers,
not just to understand the facts of the case that we have
talked about, but also your professional witness testimony
today.
Please know that while we ask that you limit your oral
statements to 5 minutes, I would like for you to make sure you
make your point. I do not want you to stop in the middle of a
sentence. I want you to finish what you are trying to do.
Likewise, each of the Members here will afford you that
same privilege as they are talking with you. We want to make
sure that you have come here for a reason, and that we
understand what that is.
As a reminder, you will notice that in front of you, there
is a button on the microphone in front of you. Please do, at
the time you are asked or recognized, that you push that button
so that the Members can hear you.
And when you begin to speak, you will see a green light,
and then after 4 minutes, the light will turn yellow and then
the red light comes on. At that I ask that you prepare yourself
to finish your feedback to us.
I now recognize the distinguished gentleman, Mr. Donahue,
for his opening statement, and welcome.
STATEMENT OF BRENDAN DONAHUE, INSPECTOR IN CHARGE UNITED STATES
POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE
Mr. Donahue. Good afternoon, Chairman Sessions, Ranking
Member Mfume, and Members of the Committee. I appreciate your
interest in understanding the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's
role in securing our Nation's mail and protecting Postal
Service employees from harm.
My name is Brendan Donahue, and I am an Inspector in Charge
for the Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement, crime
prevention, and security arm of the United States Postal
Service.
In my role, I provide executive leadership for domestic,
global, and national security. I proudly served as a postal
inspector and a postal employee since 2012, and I was
previously a uniformed police officer in Massachusetts.
I want to specifically talk about mail theft and letter
carrier robberies with you today, and the steps that we have
taken to mitigate those crimes. Beginning around 2020 and
continuing to around 2023, the Postal Service experienced a
significant increase in theft from mail receptacles, primarily
driven by financial crimes like check fraud.
The significant rise in mail theft and associated financial
crimes has been driven by highly organized criminal groups who
shifted their focus from high-risk, high-reward crimes to the
perpetration of low-risk, high-reward financial crimes.
Although there is no single cause for the shift, it is
likely due in part, first, to mass pandemic relief fraud
perpetrated during the COVID-19 pandemic; second, to the
proliferation of cyber-enabled techniques that facilitate the
perpetration of financial crime; and third, a lax prosecutorial
and sentencing climate for property and financial crimes in
some U.S. jurisdictions.
Prior to 2020, mail theft from mail receptacles, such as
blue collection boxes, was primarily perpetrated through forced
entry or using fishing devices. We countered that with physical
security enhancements to mail receptacles.
During the same period these physical security enhancements
were implemented, and corresponding with a significant rise in
mail theft, the Postal Service began to experience a marked
increase in letter carrier robberies. The same organized
criminal groups perpetrating mail theft-related financial
crimes have also conducted a vast majority of these robberies
for postal keys carried by letter carriers.
To counter these attacks against our postal employees and
to protect our delivery network, we launched Project Safe
Delivery, which includes our national strategy to combat mail
theft and letter carrier robberies.
Since Project Safe Delivery was launched on May 12, 2023,
and in fulfillment of our strategy, we have installed more than
23,000 high-security blue collection boxes nationwide, with an
additional 16,000 blue collection and relay boxes to be
installed shortly.
Replaced more than 42,000 antiquated hour locks with
electronic locks, with an additional 55,000 to be installed
shortly.
Made more than 419 arrests for letter carrier robberies.
Made more than 2,700 arrests for mail theft-related crimes.
Conducted 16 enforcement surge operations in ten cities,
leading to 68 arrests with more than 1,000 investigative
actions.
Hired ten Special Assistant United States Attorneys to
prosecute letter carrier robberies, mail theft, and other
postal crimes.
Partnered with local and state law enforcement agencies,
such as the St. Petersburg, Florida Police Department, who is
here today, by adding more than 29 state and local law
enforcement task force officers to specifically investigate
mail theft-related financial crimes and letter carrier
robberies, adding to the more than 140 task force officers we
already have.
Coordinated with the financial crimes enforcement network
to identify and analyze financial intelligence, associated mail
theft-related check fraud.
Significantly raised reward amounts for information leading
to the arrest and conviction for postal crimes, including mail
theft with a reward of up to $100,000, and postal robberies
with a reward up to $150,000.
Partnered with American Bankers Association and Independent
Community Bankers of America to produce and distribute check
fraud prevention material.
Raised awareness among postal employees through all
employee standup talks and pay stub inserts.
These are just some of the steps we have taken over the
past two years, and I can report today that we have seen
significant progress in mitigating these issues. Last fiscal
year, we saw a 27 percent decrease in letter carrier robberies.
And this fiscal year we are on track to see a 32 percent
decrease in letter carrier robberies.
We have also seen a decrease in measures in mail theft,
with a 20 percent decrease in mail theft complaints last fiscal
year, and we are on track to see a four percent decrease in
mail theft complaints this fiscal year. This progress is
notable, but we acknowledge that we still have more work to do.
There are no amount of attacks on our employees and no
amount of mail theft that will ever be acceptable to us. We
also continue to face challenges, such as with prosecution,
sentencing, and investigative tools where Congress' help would
be beneficial.
The Postal Inspection Service is committed to protecting
all postal employees, securing the mail, and defending the
Postal Service's infrastructure from criminal attack. We have
answered this call for 250 years, and intend to continue our
proud tradition of service. We are committed to our mission and
to continually making significant investments of time, capital,
personnel, and resources to protect all employees and the mail.
Thank you, Chairman Sessions, Ranking Member Mfume, and
Members of the Committee, for the opportunity to submit this
testimony. I look forward to answering your questions.
Mr. Sessions. Mr. Donahue, thank you very much.
Mr. Rothstein, before we come to you, I have a request,
which I am going to grant, pending Mr. Frost's agreeing.
That is that one of our young Members, the Chairman of the
Rules Committee, has asked that she be allowed to go first in
asking questions right now because she has a bunch of votes at
her Ed and Workforce Committee.
So, the gentlewoman would be recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. Foxx. Mr. Chairman, I truly appreciate this
dispensation you are giving me, and I appreciate the witnesses
and Mr. Mfume. And I will make this fairly quick. I will submit
some questions for the record for you, but I did want to come
here.
The Postal Service has always been very important to me. I
am a person that uses the Postal Service a lot. I write a lot
of notes. I tell the story to people, when I was a student at
Appalachian State University in the 1960s, somebody wrote me a
letter: my name; Boone, North Carolina; no address. The post
office delivered it to me.
That is the positive feeling I have about the post office,
and I want to see us have post offices like that all over the
country. Now, I know it is too complicated now; life was not
quite as complicated then.
I want you to know I use the post office a lot. The people
in my area use it. It is an important infrastructure for all
Americans, especially those in rural areas, not only to send
important documents, bills and letters, but receive sensitive
items, such as medications and all kinds of important packages.
My husband uses it an awful lot.
Therefore, any disruption in the flow of mail through theft
or other criminal interference should be taken very seriously.
Mr. Donahue, you have just outlined some excellent things
that the post office is doing in conjunction with other people,
and I am not going to ask you to go into detail now, but I am
going to say, I would like to know what additional steps the
Postal Service can do to protect mail and workers experiencing
an increase in robberies and crime without additional cost to
the post office. I would like to know if there are ways to do
it.
And then you alluded to the fact that Congress might be
able to do some things, and I would like to see those in
writing.
And then to all the rest of the witnesses, we want--again,
constituents want to know when they put a check for their rent
or utilities in the mail, they expect it to be delivered on
time, not months later, and then they receive service charges
and all that.
But I would like to know from you all any--I will read your
testimonies, but anything else that you do not have in your
testimonies that we can do to help the situation.
And with that, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate again your
indulgence, and I yield back.
Mr. Sessions. Thank you very much. Is the gentlewoman
seeking that she provided data and information and would look
for them to address that during this hearing or to respond in
writing?
Ms. Foxx. No. I will ask that they respond in writing, and
I will have formal questions.
Mr. Sessions. Respond in writing. Thank you very much,
Chairman.
Ms. Foxx. Thank you. And we do have 20-plus votes, and they
need me. Thank you.
Mr. Sessions. Yes, ma'am. Good luck at that. If you are at
the Rules Committee, it can be done very expeditiously, I am
sure.
Mr. Rothstein, you are now recognized.
STATEMENT OF JULIUS ROTHSTEIN
DEPUTY INSPECTOR GENERAL, U.S. POSTAL SERVICE
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
Mr. Rothstein. Good afternoon, Chairman Sessions, Ranking
Member Mfume, Members of the Subcommittee.
My name is Julius Rothstein. I am a Deputy Inspector
General for the United States Postal Service Office of
Inspector General. I was an organized crime prosecutor for
close to 30 years, and prior to coming to the OIG, I led DOJ's
largest crime intelligence fusion center.
I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the OIG's work on
mail theft today. The OIG's mission is promoting the integrity
and accountability and efficiency of the U.S. Postal Service
and its regulator. We have oversight responsibility for an
agency of close to 640,000, with an annual revenue of $80
billion per year. We also are one of the most active OIGs when
it comes to closing cases and securing convictions.
A significant focus of the oversight work that we do
involves mail theft. It involves both our investigations and
our audits. And while sometimes mail theft is a singular act
done by an individual, it is often a comprehensive, complex,
coordinated effort between a postal employee and outside
criminal organizations.
As a result, we work in close cooperation with other law
enforcement agencies to disrupt and dismantle all elements of
this criminal network. Given the volume and complexity of these
cases, we must leverage cutting-edge technology and data
analytics that allow us to efficiently focus our limited
resources.
One example is a powerful data tool that we developed in
collaboration with the financial services industry and also the
U.S. Department of the Treasury. It helps us pinpoint exactly
where in the postal system stolen checks and credit cards go
missing.
This tool has proven to be invaluable in allowing us to
proactively identify mail theft. To date, this tool has
identified around $250 million in stolen financial instruments,
leading us to open 75 investigations and obtaining more than 35
indictments.
Our data analytics support both our audits and our
investigations into mail theft. Recently, we used data
analytics and audits in targeted hotspots around the country
where we saw mail theft increase.
We also examined the Postal Service's response to
mitigating mail theft, and although we found some positive
steps we are taking toward that end, there remain opportunities
for improvement.
These run the gamut from low-tech to high-tech solutions,
and they include better management and tracking of universal
arrow keys, timely implementation of new technology, enhanced
security and maintenance of mailboxes, and improved security
management at postal facilities as simply as disallowing use of
backpacks on the workroom floor.
Analytic support is crucial for our investigations so we
may focus on stopping large-scale mail theft schemes where
criminal organizations recruit postal employees often through
encrypted messaging apps or social media platforms with the
promise of a quick and easy buck.
These employees, who have access to the mail, allow them to
steal letters containing checks, credit cards, and other
financial instruments. Criminal groups then use these items to
steal identities, commit forgery and fraud, or sell them
usually on social media platforms.
In one recent case in Alabama, we caught a couple of postal
employees who were recruited to steal checks and mail directed
at local businesses. Co-conspirators would then alter these
stolen checks for a higher amount and then sell them on
encrypted messaging apps. This group stole more than $17
million from over 1,600 victims.
As a result of our efforts, one of the postal employees was
convicted and sentenced to five years in prison, and another
main co-conspirator received a sentence of eight years.
Sometimes a single hotline complaint from one of your
constituents is all we need to open up a larger investigation.
A recent Washington, D.C., area case started with that, a
single hotline complaint about a stolen credit card. Through
detailed analysis, we discovered that this was part of a larger
overall criminal scheme and linked it to other law enforcement
investigations in the area.
In collaboration with the Postal Inspection Service, as
well as the Montgomery County Police in Maryland, we identified
a postal worker and external collaborator who stole more than
2,000 checks worth a total estimated loss of $2.8 million.
In another case, our special agents uncovered a large
digital marketplace that sold stolen checks, which also
included U.S. Treasury checks. This led to a joint Federal and
local law enforcement investigation in North Carolina, and we
found a postal employee and co-conspirators had stolen checks
and sold them on this digital marketplace, costing the victims
close to $24 million.
This case also inspired us to develop an analytics tool
that leverages AI to automate our ability to identify and
analyze suspected stolen checks. Our agents can now search for
these checks in far less time, making them more effective and
efficient.
This is just a small sample of the work that we do that
protects the Postal Service, its employees, and the American
public.
Thank you, again, for allowing me the opportunity to talk
about our work, and I look forward to answering any of your
questions.
Mr. Sessions. Mr. Rothstein, thank you very much.
The gentleman, Mr. Renfroe, is now recognized.
STATEMENT OF BRIAN RENFROE, PRESIDENT
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS
Mr. Renfroe. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member
Mfume, for the opportunity to testify on this issue that is
critically important to the Nation's 200,000 active letter
carriers.
The safety, health, and well-being of the public servants
that I am privileged to represent are, of course, a top
priority for me. They should be a top priority for all of us.
If we want to protect America's mail, we have to first
protect the people who deliver it. Congress has an opportunity
to do that by passing the bipartisan Protect Our Letter
Carriers Act, which is a comprehensive solution that would
deter crime against postal employees, hold those who commit
them accountable, and keep letter carriers and America's mail
safer.
When I started as a letter carrier in Hattiesburg,
Mississippi, 21 years ago, violent crime was rare.
Unfortunately, that is no longer the reality, as we have heard
earlier in this hearing.
Since 2022, five letter carriers have been murdered while
doing their jobs. Thousands of other postal employees have been
violently attacked. Nearly every single day, I learn of another
heartbreaking attack against one of our members. And we refuse
to accept that this is a new normal. It is dangerous for us, it
is dangerous for the American people, it is dangerous for the
mail.
Just last week, new Postmaster General David Steiner
started his new appointment. He and other leaders of the Postal
Service take this issue seriously, and they have pursued
changes to deter these crimes, such as replacing our old lock-
and-key system for accessing mailboxes.
My union supports the agency's Project Safe Delivery
initiative, and we applaud the hard work of the Postal
Inspection Service, which is made up of dedicated public
servants just like the letter carriers that I represent.
But the simple fact is, despite their best efforts, the
scope of this problem has severely outgrown their capacity to
protect us, and we need protection now. We cannot wait for
another letter carrier to be murdered, we cannot wait for more
violent Federal crimes against these civil servants that serve
the American people every single day to decide that it is
finally time for legislative action. The time is now.
Even as these assaults continue to surge, the number of
arrests and convictions remain alarmingly low. In recent years,
less than half of these crimes have been followed by an arrest,
and less than a quarter of these investigations led to
convictions. So, the majority of those who violently rob and
assault the public servants in uniform are getting away with it
with no consequences.
Regardless of the administration in the White House, at any
point in time the Department of Justice must prosecute these
violent Federal crimes. Unlike many topics in this town, this
is not a partisan or political issue. This is not a finger-
pointing exercise. It is not a blame game. It is a problem that
everyone should recognize and be 100 percent behind addressing.
No one wants violent crime in their neighborhood,
especially crimes that target public servants and jeopardize
the security of people's mail and packages. You know, everyone
in this building that is privileged to serve after being
elected as a Member of Congress is a public servant. All of the
witnesses here on this panel today are public servants, as are
many others in this room.
And a primary duty of any employer, but especially the
government of the United States of America, should be to ensure
the safety of its employees. And the top priority for any on-
the-job safety should be to prevent and protect workers from
the threat of violent crime.
Americans depend on us. They trust us. We proudly serve
them every day by delivering mail and packages, as well as
being important parts of our communities in a number of other
ways. And letter carriers want nothing more than to serve our
people, but we must be protected.
And the people that commit these crimes, they must be
arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced. I urge you to
pass the bipartisan Protect Our Letter Carriers Act.
Thank you, once again, for the invitation to testify, and I
look forward to answering any questions that you may have.
Mr. Sessions. Mr. Renfroe, thank you very much.
Mr. Albergo, you are now recognized for your opening
statement. The gentleman is recognized.
STATEMENT OF FRANK ALBERGO, PRESIDENT
POSTAL POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
Mr. Albergo. Good afternoon, Chairman Sessions, Ranking
Member Mfume, and Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for
the opportunity to speak today.
It is difficult to overstate how senseless and, quite
frankly, indefensible the current posture of the Postal
Inspection Service has become. We are not talking about
abstract policy failures. We are talking about a measurable
collapse in institutional responsibility happening in real time
with real victims.
In 2010, there were just over 2,200 high-volume mail theft
attacks. By 2023, that number skyrocketed to over 49,000, a
2,000-percent explosion. And yet, throughout this period, the
Inspection Service denied there was a crisis, suppressed
internal data, and removed its own uniform police from the
streets.
This is not about lost birthday cards anymore. We have
entered an era of organized postal crime. Earlier this year,
the FBI warned Americans not to mail checks; a public vote of
no confidence from one Federal agency to another.
And at a time when law enforcement agencies across the
country were expanding uniform patrols, the Inspection Service
did the opposite. In 2020, it benched its own Federal police
force. Even worse, it publicly declared that it had
comprehensively curtailed postal police patrols, effectively
inviting postal crime.
Instead of prevention, the Inspection Service has become
reactive, conducting investigations only after the damage is
done. But you cannot stop crime with a case file. You stop it
with visible police presence. That is what the postal police
force did for 50 years. That is what we are still trained and
equipped to do. And if anyone says otherwise, they are not
being truthful.
The Inspection Service's own data confirmed that postal
police officers are the agency's most effective tool to stop
street-level postal crime. I provided the Subcommittee with
that data showing sharp declines in mail theft and robberies
whenever and wherever postal police are deployed.
Now, contrast that to Project Safe Delivery, essentially a
PR campaign long on talking points and short on deterrence.
Hard and blue boxes and lengthy investigations do not stop
criminals from prying open cluster box units, raiding postal
delivery trucks, or sticking a gun in a carrier's face.
Meanwhile, both the GAO and the OIG have reached the same
conclusion. The Inspection Service has no method to determine
staffing needs, no performance metrics, and no strategy for
prevention. And instead of fixing it, the Inspection Service
asked for more time, until 2026, to decide what to do while
hoping Congress does not notice that the mail keeps getting
stolen.
But the solution already exists: the postal police force.
Specifically, H.R. 2095, the Postal Police Reform Act, a
bipartisan bill that restores postal police authority to patrol
high-risk areas beyond postal property where postal police
officers (PPO)s are needed most.
This no-cost legislation is endorsed by the National
Association of Police Organizations, the Fraternal Order of
Police, and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.
But instead of reinvesting in uniformed deterrence, the
Inspection Service is quietly dismantling it through attrition
and chronic under hiring to pay for investigative functions
that often duplicate the efforts of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and
others.
If the Inspection Service truly wants to save money, it
should cut unnecessary inspector investigations, not highly
effective police patrols. But it will not because the decisions
are being made by postal inspectors for postal inspectors.
Since 2016, the postal police force has been decimated by
over 33 percent. Today, PPOs are being quietly phased out. And
yet, the number of postal inspectors remains fixed at about
1,300. For every inspector hired, the Postal Service could have
hired two PPOs at less cost. Still, the Inspection Service
insists that this is a job for postal inspectors.
But here is what the Department of Justice told the Ninth
Circuit. The overwhelming majority of postal inspectors' time
is spent working at a desk or in an office setting. That is the
DOJ. Not patrolling, not intervening, and often claiming credit
for arrests made by local police, padding performance metrics
without ever leaving their cubicles. That is not law
enforcement. That is bureaucracy.
We know what works. Uniformed deterrence, geographic
targeting, and data-driven patrols. Not drawn-out, costly
investigations that rarely lead to arrests or convictions.
PPOs are already trained, already deployed to the highest
risk zip codes and already on the payroll, but banned by policy
from stepping off postal property. That is not law enforcement.
That is policy failure.
Thank you, and I welcome your questions.
Mr. Sessions. Mr. Albergo, thank you very much.
Chief Holloway, welcome. The gentleman is recognized.
STATEMENT OF ANTHONY HOLLOWAY, CHIEF OF POLICE
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA POLICE DEPARTMENT
Mr. Holloway. Thank you, sir.
Chairman Sessions, Ranking Member Mfume, Members of the
Committee, my name is Anthony Holloway. I am the Chief of
Police with the St. Petersburg Police Department with over 39
years of law enforcement experience; ten years as the police
chief with the St. Petersburg Police Department; prior to that,
Clearwater and Somerville, Massachusetts.
The city of St. Petersburg is the fifth largest city in
Florida, with a population of over 266,000. The St. Petersburg
Police Department has sustained a two-decade collaboration with
United States Postal Inspection Services, initially through our
canine task force embedded in the drug interdiction unit.
In July 2023, this partnership expanded when United States
Postal Inspection Service, Tampa Division, invited the St.
Petersburg Police Department to join its newly formed financial
crime task force to combat the surge in check fraud linked to
stolen mail.
Detective Daniel Nettleton was selected on August 23 to
join this task force as a task force officer to initiate--to
initial upon the completion of United States Postal Inspection
Service task officer training program on February 20, 2024,
assuming full-time ability to investigate crime.
The detective was assigned to investigate check fraud
investigations stemming from intercepted United States postal
mail, as well as theft from postal bicycles, vehicles, and
facilities within the city limits of St. Petersburg and any
Federal crime across the Tampa Bay area.
In June 2024, his work led to arrests of two separate
suspects, one who is facing pending Federal charges, and this
enforcement activity corresponds with the nearly decrease of 50
percent reduction in reported check fraud crime to the city of
St. Petersburg Police Department.
In June 2023 through June 2024, we had 256 cases. In June
2024 through June 2025, we only had 134 cases. In late 2024,
the detective spearheaded an investigation into the alleged
election mail theft, an inquiry that elevated to the DOJ Public
Integrity Unit in Washington, D.C. Federal prosecutors resulted
in additional arrests and pending Federal charges.
With this task officer assigned to this task force, it has
taken down the barriers where it allows the officers to work
outside the jurisdiction of St. Petersburg, Florida, where the
mail is stolen in the city of St. Petersburg, and then the
suspect then goes to either another city or another county and
then commits the fraud.
Prior to this task force, the officers could only take a
report number, and we could not investigate those crimes. Now,
due to joining this task force, these officers can continue to
investigate these crimes being closer not only to the
residents, but also to the business owners into the city of St.
Petersburg and also allowing these suspects know that we will
follow them no matter where they enter.
Our main job in the city of St. Petersburg is to make sure
not only our citizens are safe, but also anyone that works,
play, and visit in our city.
For the detective's outstanding work, he received a letter
of commendation from Tom Sylvester, issuing a commendation on
November 24, praising his experience and his valuable role
working for the Tampa financial crimes task force.
I want to thank you very much for allowing me here to speak
today, and I will answer any questions.
Mr. Sessions. Chief, thank you very much.
I will first go to the distinguished gentleman, Mr. Mfume,
for any questions in his 5 minutes. The gentleman is
recognized.
Mr. Mfume. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Without
objection, I am going to yield out of order to Mr. Frost, thank
him also for developing the opening statement, and yield back
to you right now.
Mr. Frost. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The U.S. Postal Service investigation service has
reportedly joined an investigative task force to help the
President, Stephen Miller, and Kristi Noem's Department of
Homeland Security carry out mass deportation efforts against
immigrants.
In April, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)
officers reportedly participated in an immigration raid where
more than 100 immigrants were detained in a Colorado nightclub.
Only two of the people arrested had outstanding warrants.
I strongly believe that the Postal Service should not
divert USPIS officers to partner with the Administration on
this work that they are doing. My Democratic colleagues and I
on this Committee recently sent a letter to both the Postal
Service and USPIS demanding transparency on the reported
coordination with DHS as it targets people for detention and
deportation. We have not held back--heard back. So, hoping to
have some questions answered here.
Inspector Donahue, how often does the Inspection Service
cooperate with DHS on investigations involving immigration
enforcement?
Mr. Donahue. So, thank you for the question. First, let me
clarify.
The Postal Inspection Service does not have immigration
enforcement authority, and we do not conduct immigration
investigations. And I just want to make that very clear.
Mr. Frost. You do not conduct investigations, but do you at
some points divert personnel to help with some of that
operation?
Mr. Donahue. We do not divert personnel. Any participation
in any sort of enforcement operation, such as the one that you
noted in April, that would be related to a postal crime.
So, while there may be an immigration operation, our
participation, again, related to a postal crime. So, for
example, somebody mailing drugs, fentanyl through the mail,
somebody committing identity theft, somebody engaging in money
laundering. That would be the extent of our presence at one of
those operations.
Mr. Frost. Are you familiar with that exact situation? What
was the postal crime associated that warranted the officers
being there?
Mr. Donahue. I believe in that specific circumstance, it
was a narcotics-related matter.
Mr. Frost. Are there standing meetings between leadership
at USPIS and DHS regarding immigration enforcement?
Mr. Donahue. So, I am not familiar with any meetings
between leadership and DHS on immigration enforcement. We
certainly have met with DHS and FBI and other counterparts
relative to the homeland security task forces, but we regularly
participate in those types of task forces, again, specific to
postal-related crime.
So, those involving the sending of drugs through the mail,
the money laundering, those targeting cartels, those engaged in
human trafficking where the mail may be used to facilitate
that, again, such as with money laundering.
That would be our extent of participation in those task
forces; again, not related to immigration enforcement.
Mr. Frost. How many USPIS personnel have been assigned to
such cases thus far?
Mr. Donahue. Can you provide some clarity to me when you
say----
Mr. Frost. Cases that--cases where DHS is involved because
there is an immigration matter, but there is also some sort of
postal issue going on as well.
Mr. Donahue. So, I am not sure at this time. But my team
behind me can take that question back, and we will provide a
written response.
Mr. Frost. Thank you. Are there any ongoing agreements that
oblige y'all to cooperate with any of this?
Mr. Donahue. I am not aware of any agreements that are in
place that would oblige us to cooperate if you are speaking
relative to any sort of immigration matter.
Mr. Frost. What happens to inspectors' regular work of
combating mail crime if they are assigned to cases that have to
do with immigration enforcement?
Mr. Donahue. So, I am not aware of us, again, working any
of those cases. We do not have immigration enforcement
authority. We do not conduct immigration investigations.
Our investigations, again, are focused on those postal
crimes. That is where our expertise is, and I expect that is
where it will continue to be long into the future.
Mr. Frost. We have seen reports of DHS and Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE). But they have reportedly broken the
law; violated constitutional rights of citizens, noncitizens;
detained veterans; different things like this.
As it relates to cases where USPIS officers are engaged
with DHS, is there any kind of guidance that you all are giving
your inspectors when it comes to working with DHS?
Mr. Donahue. So, our guidance would be our existing
policies that we follow, that the Postal Inspection Service has
that guides the work that we do, in addition to following the
law and the Constitution, and what we do every single day with
investigations that we conduct regardless of who those
investigations are, whether the Federal, state, or local level.
Mr. Frost. Thank you so much. I look forward to response on
some of the numbers we spoke about.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
Mr. Sessions. Gentleman yields back his time. Distinguished
gentleman, the young Chairman, Mr. Palmer.
Mr. Palmer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We have seen a spike
in mail theft and postal-related crime.
Is there a particular reason why we are seeing that, Mr.
Donahue?
Mr. Donahue. I believe so. There are a number of reasons.
First, as I referred to in my oral testimony, then also my
written testimony, we have seen a shift from criminal activity
from what would be considered high-risk, high-reward crimes,
such as drug trafficking, to those organizations engaging in
low-risk, high-reward financial crimes. And that is really what
motivates individuals to commit mail theft.
They are seeking to steal the mail to perpetrate financial
crimes that has driven activity, also online forums and
marketplaces where--whether it is stolen checks, postal keys
can be easily sold, and also the use of encrypted messaging
that makes it more difficult for law enforcement to be able to
intercept those communications and to be able to conduct its
investigations.
All of those things, I believe, have helped to add to this
atmosphere where criminals believe it is permissive to commit
these crimes, and I think also there is a significant issue
when it comes to deterrence and being able to deter these.
Again, in my oral written testimony, I spoke to some of the
prosecutorial challenges we have, but then also some of the
challenges that we have with sentencing.
Mr. Palmer. Well, let me ask you.
Mr. Donahue. Yes, sir.
Mr. Palmer. I want to go a little bit deeper into this, a
little different direction.
So, based on your answer there, are they seeking to get
personal identification information from the mail, and if they
are doing that, are they transferring that, selling that
information to international organizations? I mean, is that
where we are seeing the uptick?
Mr. Donahue. So, I believe the uptick is what I mentioned
before, specific to the theft of financial instruments. But
certainly, we see the theft of mail to perpetrate identity
theft, the theft of personal identifying information.
Mr. Palmer. You see international groups involved in that?
Mr. Donahue. We certainly do see international groups in a
lot of investigations that we conduct, both involving mail
theft, financial crimes, and others.
Mr. Palmer. We saw during the COVID pandemic an enormous
amount of theft in regard to unemployment bonus compensation
and other compensation, and a lot of that was perpetrated by
international groups. Some of it was perpetrated within the
United States by different groups, and they were using the
mail, for instance, where states sent out debit cards.
Is that part of--have we seen--has that continued going
forward, that type criminal activity? Anyone can answer.
Mr. Donahue. So, we certainly have seen, as you noted,
during the pandemic where criminal organizations, both
domestically and overseas, perpetrated mass pandemic fraud,
taking advantage of the large amount of money that was made
available, and also some of the looser restrictions on
obtaining those funds.
And then in some cases stealing checks or prepaid debit
cards or other payment mechanisms that were in the mail to
perpetrate these crimes.
Mr. Palmer. Where do most of these crimes occur? Do they
occur at the individual's post office box at the street or--I
think theft at collection boxes has gone down quite a bit.
Are they interdicting the postal delivery officer en route?
Where do most of the thefts occur?
Mr. Donahue. So, if it involves the Postal Service in terms
of that financial crime, the theft of PII, personal identifying
information, or financial instrument, that can occur anywhere
along the process in which mail is being sent or received.
And so, in some cases that is at the street level, and when
it is at the collection box. In some cases, it is when it is at
a person's mailbox at their house that is unsecured. In other
cases, unfortunately, there are a very small number of
individuals that work for the Postal Service who commit crime
and take advantage of their position and steal mail from there,
which Mr. Rothstein spoke to earlier.
So, we see it all along the process where there is
potential for theft.
Mr. Palmer. What should people be doing to secure their
personal identification information against mail theft?
Mr. Donahue. So, there are a number of things that
individuals can do to secure their personal identifying
information against mail theft. First, suggest that
individuals, when they receive their mail, that they pick it up
as soon as possible when it is delivered to their mailbox.
We encourage customers to sign up for Informed Delivery.
That gives them a preview of mail that is coming to their house
so they can identify what mail is going to come to their house,
and they can be on the lookout for it and get it.
We also encourage individuals, if they are going to send
mail, to mail in the most secure way possible; they can bring
it into the post office; they can hand it to their letter
carrier who will take it from them; or if they work at a place
of business, they can have it picked up there.
Those are just some of the tips that we provide to the
public on how to safely and securely send their mail.
Mr. Palmer. With your permission, Mr. Chairman, one last
question.
Do you provide that information online, or how would you
get that information to the customers of the U.S. Postal
Office?
Mr. Donahue. Thank you. So, we do provide it a number of
ways. In some cases online, in some cases the prevention
material that I showed before that we worked on with the
American Bankers Association, which is made available through
them and all the other financial institutions.
In some cases, we share it with the public through
community forums, through presentations, in some cases, coming
on to Members of the House and their town halls that they have
with their constituents where we are more than happy to
participate and share that information.
Social media.
Again, there are a number of ways that we share that
information.
Mr. Palmer. Thank you. I thank the witnesses, thank the
Chairman for his indulgence, and I yield back.
Mr. Sessions. Gentleman yields back his time.
The gentlewoman, Ms. Norton, is recognized.
Ms. Norton. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Postal Service has a mandate to provide efficient and
reliable mail service to every address in America. That mandate
requires the security of the mail and the people who deliver
it.
Unfortunately, crime committed through or against the U.S.
mail system remains high. The Postal Service must maintain
strong prevention and enforcement activities to stop this
crime. Historically, postal police officers defended employees,
customers, and property against the clock seven days a week,
wherever there was email.
But in 2020, the Postal Service issued a determination that
post officers limit their role in postal facilities. Today, the
Postal Service employs 450 postal police officers that guard
postal facilities across the country.
Mr. Albergo, what examples of crimes can postal police
officers not assist with under this current policy?
Mr. Albergo. So, under current policy, if a postal police
officer is traveling from one post office to another, and we
witness mail theft in progress, if we witness a letter carrier
being attacked, we are told to stand down, we are told to call
911.
In New York, we are prohibited from responding. We cannot
respond. They do not want us to respond.
Ms. Norton. Thank you. The Government Accountability Office
issued a report in 2024 that found that the Postal Inspection
Service improperly documented, and here I quote, ``the
processes for determining how many law enforcement workers it
needs across its divisions to respond to serious crime.''
It is surprising that the Postal Service lacks this
critical data to inform the strategic personnel and security
procedures.
Mr. Donahue, has the Postal Service prepared a cross-
current review of its inspector workforce and security
assessment? If so, can you provide this information to the
Committee as soon as it is complete?
Mr. Donahue. So, thank you for that question. In regards to
the workforce assessment that you spoke of, that is underway
now, and I expect that it will be completed by September 1. And
we will make sure that, once that is complete and available to
share, that that is shared with you.
Ms. Norton. Thank you. I hope the new Postmaster General
will reverse the Postal Service's decision to limit postal
police officers' jurisdiction. If not, Congress should.
I yield back.
Mr. Sessions. The gentlewoman yields back her time.
Ms. Randall, you are now recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. Randall. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
You know, Americans in all of our districts rely on the
Postal Service to ensure the safe and efficient delivery of
sensitive information, personal letters, cards, financial
documents, medicines, ballots. And regardless of where
Americans might live, the Postal Service, as we all know, has a
legal and universal obligation to, quote, ``provide prompt,
reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and
shall render postal services to all communities.''
Unfortunately for Americans living in rural parts of the
country, like Queets, and Elma and Quilcene and the Key
Peninsula in my district, this is a far cry from their lived
reality, partly due to postal-related crime.
Despite the recent collaborative efforts from the Postal
Service and Postal Inspection Services to combat rampant mail
theft and crimes targeting letter carriers, postal-related
crimes continue to disproportionately impact local, rural
communities in my home state.
In Washington, mail theft has spiked, and more letter
carriers are being attacked on the job. Since last December,
West Seattle has reported multiple cases of mail stolen
directly from delivery trucks. In Spanaway, a carrier was
robbed at gunpoint for his arrow key, which, as you know, is
the universal key that unlocks mailboxes and cluster mailboxes.
Inspector Donahue and Mr. Rothstein, what are your
respective agencies doing to address the violent attacks on
carriers in communities like mine and across the country?
Mr. Donahue. So, first, in regards to your community and
every state, the Postal Inspection Service has postal
inspectors located across the country in nearly every state,
and also in our territories. And we utilize those personnel to
respond to attacks on employees to investigate those cases and
to bring those responsible for it to justice, and especially
when there is an attack, we prioritize those cases and ensure
that they are thoroughly investigated.
In regard to other steps that we have taken, prevention
being one of them, and there are a number of ways that we have
done that. Raising awareness amongst postal employees about
steps that they can take to protect themselves, raising
awareness amongst the public about steps that they can protect
their mail, which may lessen the chances of an attack on an
employee depending upon the motive.
In addition to that, we have helped secure our network by
investing and making improvements to infrastructure that we
have. I spoke about the additional e-locks that we are
installing earlier in my testimony, and then also our high-
security collection boxes and really trying to devalue that
arrow key so it is not an attractive target for a criminal in
order to steal that.
Another way that we have done it, is partnering with local
and state law enforcement agencies to add task force officers
to serve as a force multiplier. You know, some of the biggest
challenges that we have with prosecution are in some cases with
juveniles. I think, as you know, there is no Federal juvenile
system, but yet we see juveniles recruited to help perpetrate
these crimes. And in some cases, they are committing these
violent acts, but the Federal system is not appropriate for
them.
And so, our partnership with local, state law enforcement
agencies allows us to leverage the power of their state
authority or local authority that they have to bring charges
there. And those are just some of the steps that we have taken.
And I will note we are looking to add additional task force
officers, both on financial crimes and our violent crime task
force officers, but those that investigate other crimes. And
certainly, that is available in Washington State and in other
states represented by the Members here.
Ms. Randall. Mr. Rothstein, do you have anything to add?
Mr. Rothstein. Yes. I would like to state that, again, the
primary responsibility for investigating violent crime against
mail carriers does lie with the Inspection Service, but we do,
at the OIG, work violent crime cases.
Quite frankly, I get an incident report every time that
there is violence done within a mail facility or done to one of
our carriers, and it gets to my desk, and I hear about it that
morning when that happens.
And although it is not a primary responsibility, our
special agents work hand in hand with postal inspectors, just
like they do with us during our cases. And especially if it is
a violent case where we are asked for assistance, our special
agents will roll out there, do surveillance, help work with the
arrest scene.
And if I ever hear that our agents decline an offer to
assist with that, I will make corrective action in that,
because that is simply not the way that we roll. And it is
simply not the partnership that we want to have.
Even though we do have oversight of the Inspection Service,
we know that in investigating these cases, especially when
dealing with public safety or the safety of postal employees,
we are going to be working those cases arm in arm.
Ms. Randall. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Sessions. The gentlewoman yields back her time.
The gentleman, Mr. Mfume, the Ranking Member, my dear
friend, you are recognized.
Mr. Mfume. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to
thank you for the working partnership that we have had on this
Committee and the bipartisan manner in which we have tried to
deal with a number of different things, not the least of which
is our love and respect for the Postal Service and the men and
women that make it work day in and day out.
I cannot underscore enough how I appreciate the testimony
and the work of all of you who have come before us today. Each
one of these sessions becomes a learning tool for those of us
who sit on this Committee, because we do not see everything
from every angle. So, your perspective on all these things
alone is very, very important.
I think that without a doubt we are all still astonished by
more than a quarter of a million complaints of mail and mail
volume receptacle theft that we continue to hear about and read
about.
The Postal Service, as has been said, and as we all know,
has a constitutional mandate. It is, in fact, a lifeline for
millions and millions of Americans, particularly in rural
communities and those people who cannot fight and stand up for
themselves, but who rely day in and day out on a basic service
that has been so much part and parcel of the fabric of our
Nation, going all the way back to Benjamin Franklin.
And so, it is crucial that the Post Office, in my opinion,
has the resources to carry out their mission and to realize
also that in many respects this is about data, but it is more
than data.
It is also about human beings who are on the other side of
the equation. We refer to them as letter carriers. And they
work day in and day out to make sure that the service that we
have come to take for granted is still there.
What we find challenging is the rate of devilish
interception and the rate of interception that comes from
thieves, and this criminal mindset that if you put up two
fences, we want to find a way to scale a third one.
It is trying to get in front of those persons and getting
in front of that criminal mind that is a real challenge, not
just in this matter but in all matters.
So, the more you can work to do that, I think it is clear
that the more it is appreciated by a lot of us.
And I have listened. And this whole issue of Project Safe
Delivery, I do not want to undercount it. I think it is
important. The progress that is being made there is important.
I commend the inspector generals. Your work is a tough job day
in and day out.
But we have got to find a way, I think, Mr. Chairman, to
make sure that as we use cutting-edge technology, and as we
work to improve data analysis so that we can reduce, if not to
some extent try to eliminate much of this problem, is
important.
I cannot help but to go back again to letter carriers and
what they are faced with in the street. In my own district in
Baltimore, we continue to get reports of assaults and attempted
assaults on letter carriers.
I sometimes will get out of my car and talk with one or two
of them just for them to feel comfortable enough to give me a
straightforward feel of what they see every day, what they feel
in their heart, what their ideas are on how we can find a way
to get a handle on this, and it is an amazing kind of
testimony.
So, when we here on this Committee try to deal with this
issue openly and objectively in a nonpartisan way, we really
have to be open to every suggestion--suggestions on the data
side, suggests on the human side--that hopefully will move us
forward.
Mail fraud and all that it has brought about is disturbing.
I cannot begin to tell you that. I listened to the gentlewoman
from North Carolina talk about what her experience was back in
the 1960s.
So, many people have positive experiences with the Postal
Service. The Postal Service's rating among Americans has been
high for such a long time, and it is because the Postal Service
is a part of the family. That is how people look at things.
So, when I, Mr. Albergo, listen to your testimony, I am
reminded of that testimony I heard from you and from many of
your men.
In fact, a year ago, or two years ago, they presented me
with their badge. They said, ``Take this, put it in your desk,
do not ever forget that the Postal Police are out here and that
we are out here to service you and to service the country.''
I just think we have got to create, Mr. Chairman, a way to
give the police clear lines of demarcation so we will know what
they can do, what they cannot do, and what we expect them to
do, and how we are going to support them.
So, I would ask all of you what is the number one thing we
could do. I am sure that is to provide necessary resources.
But above and beyond that, I just want to thank you all for
your service. I want to pledge the commitment of this side of
the aisle as the Chairman and I work together on these issues
to try to move a Congress, which is really stratified these
days and dug in on different sides of the fence.
We try to find that sliver in the middle where most people
are, which is where you are governed from, not the far left or
the far right, but the middle. And people expect us to be able,
in that middle, to move along in such a way that we create
progress.
So, I am sure this is not going to be the last time that we
see some of you before the Committee. I would strongly urge,
outside of your written testimony, if there are new things that
develop over the course of the next couple of months, that you
transmit them to the Chairman and myself so that we can also
take those into consideration; and where there needs to be
clarity on news reports sometimes that are a little ambitious,
to say the least, that you provide us with what the actual
facts were and are.
And with that, Mr. Chairman, I would yield back the balance
of my time. Thank you, again. It has been a good working
partnership. And I yield.
Mr. Sessions. Mr. Mfume, thank you very much. The chance to
hear your comments about the workability of this Subcommittee,
I hope, is important to anyone who is listening, because when
we do work together, I think we achieve so much more.
I would ask unanimous consent that a statement provided by
the National Association of Postal Supervisors be entered into
the record, by Mr. Chuck Mulidore, who is in attendance today
with Mr. Levi.
And I welcome both of you.
Without objection, that will be entered into the record.
Mr. Mfume. Good to see both of you again.
Mr. Sessions. It is good.
Chief Holloway, you have heard Mr. Mfume give strong
credence and support to postal workers, postal employees, that
also include their law enforcement, and the men and women who
take an obligation to deliver our mail fairly, quickly,
properly.
And I think it is the reason why you were included on here,
or at least the reason why I included you, was we also count on
our local partners. And you represent, by being a chief in
Florida of a large department, you recognize that we just do
not have enough Postal police officers, inspector generals, and
those postal inspectors to be looking out everywhere, every
time.
Talk to us about a reasonableness issue related to the way
you see it, about your officers, your command, your use of your
force in support of crimes that may be committed against
people, including the United States Postal Service.
Chief Holloway. Thank you very much, Chairman, for that
question.
Mr. Sessions. Yes. I am sorry, sir. Is your microphone on?
Chief Holloway. It is, sir.
Mr. Sessions. Okay. I need to turn my hearing aid up. I do
not have one, but I will pay attention here. Thank you, sir.
Chief Holloway. Thank you, again, sir, and thank you for
the question.
In the city of St. Petersburg, we have over 602 officers,
and our partnership with the United States Postal Inspection
Service works quite well because it gives us that added tool
that we need to help enforce the crime that is in our
community.
Again, as I said in my earlier statement, it breaks down
some of the walls to give the investigators the ability to go
throughout the county and throughout the state to follow these
criminals no matter where they are.
Our main primary goal is to make sure that the citizens in
the city of St. Petersburg are safe at all times, and the
people that work there, our mail carriers. So, when there is an
issue, that we want to be working hand in hand with the
inspectional services to make sure that we can address that.
I can tell you--I only can speak for the Tampa Bay region--
that when something does happen, that the inspectors and the
local law enforcement officers are working hand in hand
together to figure out how we are going to, one, make sure that
the mail person is safe, and also make sure the community is
safe.
The biggest thing that we see early, again, like I said
earlier, is that the victims, when their checks or when their
credit cards are stolen from them, there was no followup,
because it happens in one jurisdiction, and the suspect will go
to another jurisdiction, and those two local law enforcement
agencies are only going to handle the crime that occurred in
their city.
Whereas working with our Federal partners, it allows us the
opportunity to go across those barriers, so we can bring not
only those suspects into custody, but also to bring these
victims what they need, closure, because even though the money
is put back into their accounts, they are still a victim of
identity theft, and they still have to live through that.
So, that is our job, is to make sure that we continue to
bring closure to those victims and also to make sure we get
these suspects in custody.
Mr. Sessions. Very nice. So you are stretched also for your
resources?
Chief Holloway. I am very fortunate, Chair, that my mayor,
my city council, whatever we need, we are able to get those
resources available to us. Again, I only can speak for my city
and my law enforcement.
Could we use more law enforcement officers out there? Of
course we can. But at the same time, when we have an issue, we
have the right resources that we can bring to those issues that
are needed.
Mr. Sessions. So, I heard you say, without you saying it,
that you believe that if there is a crime perpetrated against
someone, some sort of a mail crime, that you would, in fact, go
and initiate, write a report.
And then, do you then refer that, generally speaking, to
the postal inspectors? Or what is your process? Or do you even
know what that might be?
Chief Holloway. No, sir. Because we have an officer, a
detective, assigned now to the Postal Inspection Service, so we
have a task force officer, so he is available now, and he can
investigate those crimes, where before we were part of the task
force, it would just sit there. It would just be a report
number waiting for someone to look at it.
Now, with us joining the task force 18 months ago, we are
now actively working these cases each and every day. So, when a
case is reported to the St. Petersburg Police Department, we
actively look into it, and we use our partners at the Post
Office to make sure we can continue these investigations.
Mr. Sessions. Without putting words into your mouth,
because you have this association that is a strong working
relationship, is there, generally speaking, a time of the year
that you believe your officers would be reminded and there
would be at a higher level of understanding to be looking for
mail crimes, postal crimes to occur, to where, because you do
have that relationship, it helps your officers to spot and
solve these matters?
Chief Holloway. It does by that detective assigned to the
task force. When he sees something, he can report it back to
our intelligence unit, and we can put a BOLO out so those zone
officers, or even our surveillance team, will know where to go,
so they can provide protection for those mail carriers when we
see an issue that we need to address, or that we get
information that we are looking for a certain suspect, that we
can also be able to follow those suspects and make sure there
is no harm caused to our mail carriers in the city of St.
Petersburg.
Mr. Sessions. It is refreshing for me to hear that you care
about them as you do any other citizen, and thank you very
much.
Mr. Rothstein or Mr. Donahue, do you have an understanding
about maybe the success that might be turned about--and I am
going to use the wrong term, but there was a term, maybe
``notice of delivery,'' I have had that in my mail, or where
they notify you of the delivery. Do you perceive that you could
use that as a tool where you know you had certain post offices
or where you had certain areas where there were checks that
came in or an abundance of something to where you would then
notify--it is easier to find, I assume also, a piece of mail
that has been, I will call it, tagged, a notice of delivery.
Does that help you in your investigative duties
proactively? Or can you discuss that viewpoint that I think I
have had about maybe this is an important way to help you solve
crimes?
Mr. Rothstein. Yes, Chairman. I believe that IIC Donahue
talked about the Informed Delivery system. And, again, it is
one way that any postal customer can sign up for the Postal
Service's Informed Delivery system, that will give them an
email, to their email of choice, of the letters and now even
packages that are slated to be delivered to that address.
So, that customer, that postal customer who is expecting a
credit card or expecting a check, will have an actual image of
that envelope and that mail that is supposed to be delivered
for them.
And, again, this goes into being a good consumer. If you do
not receive it, you are given notice that, well, sometimes
delays happen. Give it a couple days. If you do not receive it
within three days, I always say, give the OIG a call.
Because, again, if it was on the mailman's part, that is
primarily our responsibility, to investigate the internal
employees if they are involved. Go to our hotline, file a
complaint, give our OIG a call.
And we do use data for that. I know that the Ranking Member
talked about data and the difference. Yes, there is a
difference between victims of violent crime, as well as looking
at the data.
But the data does enlighten and give our agents insight
into what is happening. If you are familiar with military
threat attack doctrine or cybercrime, there is a term called
``zero day,'' and that is the time of realization of that
vulnerability when it is either a cyber-attack or a military
attack.
The zero day when it comes down to financial crime is the
realization that your accounts have been compromised--a check
has been stolen, someone has withdrawn amounts or charged to
your credit card, or created another credit card in your name.
That happens, unfortunately, so much later because sometimes
consumers are either not very, again, vigilant in checking
their credit card statements and check statements, or they are
just simply unaware fraud has happened.
What the data has done, especially with this data-sharing
partnership that we have with the Treasury Department and more
than a dozen banks in the United States, is that we get this
data, and we are informed about credit cards and checks that
are not delivered in the requisite amount of time.
It allows us sometimes to act even before that fraud is
committed or that check is converted or stolen on the, again,
encrypted messaging apps. And that is a huge tool in reducing
the cost to consumers, huge in reducing the cost to financial
institutions.
And it gives us a leg up because now we know what financial
instrument has been compromised. And we could look through the,
again, the platforms that we know are being used for illicit
sales and resales of these stolen items that were stolen from
the mail. And so, it gives law enforcement a leg up.
And so, when you talk about successes, again, it is one
thing to talk about how this is effective. I would not
necessarily call it successes right now because we are seeing,
again, similar actions like this that we do not have the
resources to respond to from last year and projected this year
alone.
We use data and all these data sources to examine what are
the potentially similar or different types of cases that we do
not have the resources to open, and, unfortunately, that number
is over 100,000 different cases. And, quite frankly, with 450
agents, we are limited in what actions we do take.
And so, it makes us more effective, but we are far from, I
think, seeing the success that the American public really
deserves in having their financial instruments, their hard-
earned money secured.
Mr. Sessions. I think that what you have said is not just a
positive attribute of the system but shows its flexibility with
the ability to proactively contact customers to let them know,
offer services, and do those things.
One of the things which I regularly try and do is I try and
give tips or feedback to people, whether it be about Medicare,
Medicaid, Social Security. I really need to include something
about this Informed Delivery.
And while I have been a part of it in the past, I did not
know how I got it. It showed up. I became aware of it. I think
it was a positive thing.
But I definitely think that someone that is looking for
something that has been talked about, by not just Mr. Frost,
not just Virginia Foxx, not just Ms. Randall, but valuables--
valuables--that I am looking for something as opposed to
something showing up.
I think that that would be a hot tip that I would be
pleased to notify my people.
Last, the issue of cluster boxes, cluster boxes have
created within the congressional district that I represent in
largely new areas, large areas where maybe a new homeowners
association was formed or a new housing project came in.
Does anybody have any advice about something that they have
learned about how to better secure them, data and information
that might be a tip to a consumer? Any one of you.
Mr. Donahue. So, in regard to cluster boxes and securing
them, I think one of the most important things that somebody
who is a resident of a neighborhood that has a cluster box, if
there is damage to it, either if it is due to purposeful damage
or if it is inadvertent damage, that they report that, so that
that can be repaired.
I see so often there were cluster box units, and even in
apartment buildings, those apartment mailbox panels, they
become damaged, and then they become potential targets for
theft and go unreported.
And to the extent that it can be shared with the public, to
report those instances when it is damaged, to do so. And that
also affords us in the Postal Service the ability to determine
whether or not potentially that cluster box unit was broken
into and if it was purposeful, or if there was some other
reason for it.
And so, it also affords us the opportunity to work with the
homeowners association to get it repaired.
Mr. Sessions. Good.
Mr. Mfume, I would offer, if you have any other questions.
I, while being here, I have found this most instructive. It is
a question that you and I and probably every Member deals with
one way or another. Sometimes frustration,
Mr. Mfume. Yes.
Mr. Sessions. Sometimes achievement. But I will tell you
that one thing that you and I know, and that is the men and
women, by and large, vastly across this Service, are devoted to
not only their job, but also think of themselves as being
public servants also. And I think that that is a high standard
that speaks volumes about each and every one of you.
Chief, you would fit in there also, though not with the
Postal Service, but in service.
The gentleman is recognized.
Mr. Mfume. Yes, let me followup on this matter of cluster
boxes and arrow keys. It seems like it is all I have been
talking about the last five years.
Is it correct to assume that if I rob you and I am able to
evade the Postal Police, and I go to a cluster box and take
this universal key and put it in, it will open all of my access
to all of the mailboxes? Is that correct? Is there a code that
has to precede that?
Mr. Renfroe. No. So, the arrow lock-and-key system that we
have had for many years, that we still utilize today in most of
the country, if you get your hands on that key, you can open
anything, at minimum, within that ZIP Code, sometimes far, far
beyond that--collection boxes, cluster boxes.
It is one of the reasons that a very, very important piece
of the solution is an effort that the Postal Service has
already undertaken, and that is to replace them with an
electronic alternative.
We have done testing in the past. They are, as aggressively
as they can, replacing them with an electronic alternative that
does not have that same value.
Mr. Mfume. And how many of these cluster boxes do you
anticipate exist nationwide?
Mr. Renfroe. Well, there are over nine million locks, which
is--every one of those locks has got to be changed manually.
And that is one of the important pieces of the bipartisan
legislation that has been introduced in the House and the
Senate, the Protect Our Letter Carriers Act, is that it will
provide funding so that the Postal Service could speed up
replacement of not just that entire key system, but also the
high security collection boxes that Mr. Donahue was mentioning.
Mr. Mfume. Right. And I understand. I mean, I am a
cosponsor of the bill here in the House. I get it, trust me.
I am just trying to figure out how in the hell did we get
in a situation where we created an entry system for nine
million, or how many millions there are out there of boxes
where there are going to be valuables, checks, personal
information, medicine, that people are waiting for? How did we
get to that, do you know?
Mr. Renfroe. I think many years ago, decades ago, that was
the only alternative, and like many other things with the
Postal Service that we have talked about in this very room, it
has been starved of modernization. And, unfortunately, we are
at a point where the modernization of this particular system
being past due is harming people, frankly.
Mr. Mfume. So, until we get to the point, through data and
electronics and analytics, that we can replace or reduce that,
is there no suggestion, no way around that?
I mean, we cannot put a Postal Police officer at every
cluster box. And so, we know that this rate of crime continues
to go up.
Are there suggestions that any of you have about what we
can do in the interim, knowing where we are trying to go with
this?
In the interim, what can take place to reduce some of the
pain and a great deal of the loss that is out there every day?
Mr. Albergo. Well, when we know an arrow key is stolen and
we know the same blue collection boxes are being hit over and
over again, the same cluster boxes are being hit over and over
again, and you have trained Postal Police officers, it might be
a good idea to actually deploy those Postal Police officers to
protect those boxes that are being infiltrated.
Mr. Mfume. Well, Mr. Albergo, it seems to me that the
previous Postmaster reduced the authority of Postal Police and
on many occasions said that their jurisdiction was not
applicable here, there, or somewhere else. And the Congress did
not, in my opinion, do all it could to provide the resources.
So, you are understaffed. You are in a situation where we
have got a new Postmaster. There is previous precedent where
the outgoing or long-gone Postmaster has said Postal Police
should not go here, they should not go there, they should not
do this, and we are going to provide less money.
So, I guess, I do not want to tell you what your testimony
is here, but I would like to know what you would suggest to
this body before we conclude this hearing on how do we find a
way to increase jurisdiction and at the same time increase the
ability to bring on more.
Mr. Albergo. Well, the enabling statute that gives Postal
Police their authority is ambiguous. So, the Postal Service can
interpret that statute any way they want.
They made a policy choice to bench the Postal Police Force
during a postal crime wave. I mean, it was misguided. They are
saying--I mean, what are they supposed to say at this point? It
was really stupid? I mean, that is not what they are going to
say.
So, they are looking for excuses when--and who is
suffering? I mean, when they hardened those blue collection
boxes, it just displaced the crime. It put a target on letter
carriers' backs, and carriers started getting robbed.
And while that was happening, the Inspection Service--it
was not actually their choice. It was Postal legal that made
the decision. They grounded the Postal Police. And not only did
they ground us, when media asked why, they said: Well, Postal
Police do not have any jurisdictional authority.
And most people do not differentiate Postal Police from the
Postal Inspection Service. So, the Postal Service was actually
saying the Inspection Service--or this is what people were
hearing--the Inspection Service does not have authority to
arrest mail thieves. So, it was a criminal free-for-all.
Mr. Mfume. Yes, yes. That it was, that it was.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Albergo.
Mr. Sessions. Thank you very much.
This now ends the hearing portion of this, and I would
defer to Mr. Mfume if he would choose to give a closing
statement, and then I plan to.
Mr. Mfume. No, I really do not have much more to say. I
think the witnesses can see my frustration. I can see their
frustration. We all have different roles in trying to figure
this out.
And I think we all feel a great deal of empathy for victims
across this country who are expecting medicine or valuables or
checks in the mail, only to find out that they do not get them.
And then, of course, the people who are delivering them are
under threat of being robbed, shot, stabbed, or killed.
Maybe we ought to conclude on my side with that, Mr.
Chairman. I want to thank them again, and thank you, and
certainly yield back for whatever statement you might have.
Mr. Sessions. Mr. Mfume, thank you very much.
I hope that the witnesses who are before us today recognize
that as you drew questions from Members, there still is a wide
variance of people who have comments about the Postal Service.
It is my hope that you heard us say today that we have
confidence in you, that we do know that the cost of the stamp
and the cost of the Postal Service and the work that is being
done, the day-to-day work that is done, not only by these
letter carriers but mail people, is one that goes on and on and
on. And they are expected to--and do--deliver, and many times
in overtime and circumstances that are not beautiful.
We have circumstances like the floods that we had in Texas
where those rural letter carriers in most of the instances that
I am thinking of now, but also others in the Service, where the
Post Office bends over backward to accommodate communities and
people and hold mail and try and do the extra work that it
would mean to someone who might be in stress, someone who might
be searching to find a loved one who perhaps they cannot find
now or have not been found, would recognize the need that that
family has to gain confidence of getting their mail.
I could just go through a hundred circumstances that could
happen--freezes, tornadoes, a crisis that families have--and
the Post Office is embedded in much of those same types of
circumstances. And when I deal with the Post Office, I find
that they want to bend over backward to help people.
So, on behalf of this Subcommittee, which has the
jurisdiction for the Postal Service, I want you to know that
Mr. Mfume and I have great confidence in what you have done
today.
You helped us to prepare ourselves as we think about the
future and, perhaps more importantly, to know that Mr. Mfume
and I appreciate and respect you and the people you represent
in the Postal Service.
I now will move to the end. With that, and without any
objection, all Members have five legislative days within which
to submit material and additional written questions for the
witnesses, and they will be forwarded to the witnesses from the
Subcommittee.
If there is no further business, without objection, the
Subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:38 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]