Politics

Senators Offer Amendment to Shift USPS to Zero-Emission Fleet

Next Generation Delivery Vehicle, NGDV, Politics, postal 3 Comments

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) today introduced an amendment to the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 that would prohibit the United States Postal Service (USPS) from purchasing non-zero-emission vehicles. The USPS fleet makes up about one third of all government vehicles. Continue reading →

Press release: USPS completes environmental review of Next Generation Delivery Vehicle program

LLVs, NGDV, Politics, postal
  • Through the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) program, U.S. Postal Service commitment to the fiscally responsible roll-out of electric-powered vehicles for America’s largest and oldest federal fleet remains ambitious and on schedule
  • The NGDV program, which delivers its first 5,000 battery electric vehicles (BEV) beginning in 2023, provides significant environmental benefits through the introduction of safer and more environmentally friendly vehicles
  • The flexibility in the NGDV program allows for an increase in the mix of BEVs should additional funding become available
  • Postal Service carefully reviewed and incorporated feedback from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the NGDV program’s potential environmental impacts, detailed in the USPS 340-page Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
  • USPS concludes there is no legal or other basis to delay the NGDV program

Continue reading →

PRC Vice Chair temporarily takes over as Biden nominee awaits confirmation

Politics, postal

Washington, DC – The Postal Regulatory Commission today announced that effective immediately, Vice Chairwoman Ashley E. Poling will assume the administrative responsibilities of the agency under 39 CFR 3000.110(b) which states, “…In case of a vacancy in the Office of the Chairman of the Commission, or in the absence or inability of the Chairman to serve, the Vice Chairman, unless otherwise directed by the Chairman, shall have the administrative responsibilities and duties of the Chairman during the period of vacancy, absence, or inability.” Continue reading →

Don’t Abandon First-Class Postal Service

DeJoy, Politics, postal

Starting with Benjamin Franklin, one postmaster general after another endeavored to speed up the U.S. Mail. In this ongoing quest to move mail faster, a series of transportation advances were eagerly adopted, from stagecoaches to steamships to railroads to airplanes. But the current postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, is pursuing a course of action that departs from the goals and aspirations of his predecessors. Continue reading →

President orders vaccinations for most federal workers- but not USPS

covid, Politics, postal 1 Comment

President Biden this afternoon laid out new steps his administration will take to get more Americans to take the COVID-19 vaccine, as right wing politicians appear determined to halt progress on defeating the pandemic.

One big surprise- the White House says the US Postal Service is not included in a new requirement that all federal employees be vaccinated. There was no explanation for the omission, first reported via twitter by the Washington Post’s Jacob Bogage:

Continue reading →