House Oversight Members, U.S. Reps. Lawrence, Maloney, and Lynch, Introduce Postal Service Improvement Act

Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Representative Brenda L. Lawrence (MI-14), member of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, along with House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12) and Subcommittee on National Security Chairman Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), introduced the Postal Service Improvement Act to help the Postal Service more efficiently and effectively manage mail-in ballots in federal elections by requiring all mail-in ballots to include a Postal Service trackable barcode and other stylistic requirements to make ballots easier to sort and track.

“As the only member of Congress who dedicated 30 years of their career to the United States Postal Service, I want to be clear that this much-needed reform has been a priority of mine since being elected,” said Rep. Lawrence.  “I’m proud to have helped shape and draft the Postal Service Improvement Act and the Postal Service Reform Act to stabilize the Postal Service so it can continue its vital mission to serve the American people. Both bills provide the Postal Service with the financial solvency it needs to overcome financial burdens and ensure equity for its dedicated employees.”

“The Postal Service Improvement Act will enable the Postal Service to more easily support boards of elections and voters to track mail-in ballots, and will create equity for postal employees by giving them access to 12 weeks of paid parental leave,” said Chairwoman Maloney. “These provisions will make the Postal Service more effective and help attract employees who want to build a career in public service.  Alongside the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act, which will set the Postal Service on the right financial path, this bill will help the Postal Service better serve the American people. I would like to thank my dedicated colleagues, Representative Lynch and Representative Lawrence, for their support developing these bills and for their tireless work to get bipartisan postal reform done.”

“The Postal Service Improvement Act will greatly supplement our bipartisan effort to address the financial and operational challenges facing the United States Postal Service,” said Rep. Lynch. “By enhancing the identification and tracking of mail-in ballots, this legislation will reinforce the critical vote-by-mail operations of an agency that delivered and processed an unprecedented 135 million ballots to American voters in 2020.  Moreover, the extension of paid parental leave to America’s postal workers will finally place our dedicated letter carriers, mail handlers, clerks, and other postal employees on par with the vast majority of our federal workforce. I thank Chairwoman Maloney and Rep. Lawrence for their continued commitment to reforming the United States Postal Service for the better.”