[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E10]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCING A RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENSE THAT THE UNITED STATES 
           POSTAL SERVICE SHOULD ENSURE DOOR DELIVERY FOR ALL

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. SUSAN A. DAVIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 3, 2017

  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a 
resolution of the House ``expressing the sense that the United States 
Postal Service shall take all appropriate measure to ensure the 
continuation of door delivery for all.''
  Many do not realize that the Post Office is already in the process of 
phasing out door delivery service, the heart of its customer 
experience.
  And that if some in Congress had their way it would be eliminated 
entirely.
  In my home state of California, residents in newly planned 
communities are already witnessing the end of traditional mail 
delivery.
  Instead, residents are being forced to resort to so-called cluster 
boxes--centralized curbside locations many of which are in unsecure 
locations, poorly maintained and far from people's homes.
  Just last month local residents from a community meeting in my 
district adopted an official neighborhood resolution calling on 
Congress to address this pressing issue.
  I have heard stories from dozens of my constituents about cluster 
boxes being stolen or damaged. Once that happens, postal customers have 
to wait months and raise enough money from their neighbors to replace 
them because USPS does not maintain them. While they wait, they have to 
go to their post office and wait in long lines every day to pick up 
their mail.
  Americans have benefited from door delivery service ever since the 
time of the Civil War.
  But now some in Congress, in a short-sighted attempt to cut costs, 
are pushing through a radical overhaul of the Post Office without 
considering the long-term consequences.
  Studies have shown that in today's digital age it is people with 
disabilities and the elderly who rely most on postal mail more, 
especially for prescription medicines.
  Yes, it is these very groups that would most be hurt by the sudden 
forced adoption of centralized cluster boxes.
  And businesses big and small all across the country rely on well-
timed mailers to advertise their products and services. These efforts 
could be less productive without door delivery and could lead to less 
business mailings and less revenue for USPS.
  All this just for short-term cost cutting--which will do nothing to 
address the long-term solvency of the Post Office.
  And we already know that nobody wants these changes. In 2013, USPS 
offered voluntary cluster box conversions to businesses and only .8 
percent signed up.
  What business survives by reducing customer satisfaction?
  Or by finding ways to devalue the very service, door delivery, it is 
known for?
  But that is what the proponents of such radical postal reform efforts 
have in mind.
  Furthermore, such changes as proposed in broad postal legislation 
will end the equal mail delivery system we have now for everyone.
  Forced adoption of cluster boxes and a ``delivery tax'', whereby only 
the wealthy will get mail at their doors, will create a two-tiered 
system breaking the fundamental premise that has always been central to 
the Post Office's mission to deliver to every door at a fixed rate.
  I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in 
supporting this effort to help preserve door delivery for all our 
constituents.

                          ____________________