Rounds, Welch Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Local News Overcome Persistent Postal Delays, Surging Rate Increases

Rounds, Welch Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Local News Overcome Persistent Postal Delays, Surging Rate Increases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today introduced the bipartisan Deliver for Democracy Act, legislation that would help rural newspaper delivery by incentivizing reliable postal service and limiting excessive rate increases.

In recent years, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has consistently raised rates for periodicals under the guise of increased efficiency and improved service. However, local news has yet to receive those benefits and instead continues to face persistent postal delays.

“Local journalists work hard every day to deliver news on a timely basis, and the U.S. Postal Service should too,” said Rounds. “Periodical rates have cumulatively increased by over 40 percent since August 2021. Meanwhile, the Postal Service’s on-time delivery performances have not improved, leaving local journalists to pick up the slack by handling delivery on their own in order to make certain their readers receive their papers on time. Our common sense bipartisan legislation helps protect rural newspapers and consumers from unjustified price hikes by making certain USPS is held to a standard for on-time deliveries.” 

“A vibrant and healthy local press has always been a defining feature of American democracy. Today, local news offers a crucial alternative to online information ecosystems, which are too often distorted by algorithms that amplify disinformation and confine readers to inescapable echo chambers. But surging rate increases and poor service jeopardize local news outlets’ ability to reach readers and supply the information so essential to an engaged citizenry and a vibrant democracy. It’s time for USPS to remember its mission and meet the media’s basic needs,” said Welch. “The Deliver for Democracy Act would help local news stave off extinction by requiring USPS to meet reasonable on-time delivery standards before raising rates.”

In addition to Rounds and Welch, the Deliver for Democracy Act is cosponsored by Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

The Deliver for Democracy Act is endorsed by the South Dakota NewsMedia Association, the National Newspaper Association and News/Media Alliance:

“The members of South Dakota NewsMedia Association are appreciative of Senator Rounds for sponsoring this important legislation,” said Dave Bordewyk, Executive Director of the South Dakota NewsMedia Association. “SDNA members view the U.S. Postal Service as a strategic partner in delivering their newspapers to readers. However, declining delivery and service coupled with double-digit rate increases over the last few years are unsustainable for our members.  We need the Postal Service to succeed, and we fully support Senator Rounds in this legislation to help make that happen.”

“Our members are being forced to cope with unsustainable rates from the monopoly postal system. If something doesn’t change soon, they will be put out of business and residents will see more news deserts and an even greater loss of quality news and information. We thank Senator Welch for his leadership and support the Deliver for Democracy Act,” said Danielle Coffey, President & CEO of News/Media Alliance.

“NNA applauds the introduction of the ‘Deliver for Democracy Act.’ This bill highlights the responsibility of the USPS to accurately measure the service newspapers receive and will hold it accountable for failing to meet its service standards. For publishers who are struggling to keep their papers in circulation due to excessive rate increases, this bill is an important first step towards making the USPS a viable distribution partner again,” said John Galer, Chairman, National Newspaper Association.

BACKGROUND

In January 2021, the U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) adopted regulations that established three additional forms of rate authority, including one for non-compensatory classes of mail such as periodicals and package services. Under the new regulations, USPS is provided an additional two percentage points of rate authority for any class or product of mail where costs exceed revenue. Since then, USPS has maximally exercised this authority and, if a recent notice goes into effect, will have raised periodical postage rates by over 40%.

Despite such significant rate increases, however, the Postal Service has routinely failed to meet periodicals’ basic needs and achieve the 95% on-time delivery performance standard outlined in Postmaster General DeJoy’s 10-year plan. As a result, local news outlets, which must already navigate other existential challenges, are simultaneously subject to high distribution costs and poor service.

The Deliver for Democracy Act would:

·         Require the USPS to either achieve at least a 95% on-time delivery rate for periodicals or an improvement of at least 2 percentage points to unlock its 2% surcharge authority for that class of mail;
·         Direct the USPS to annually report to the Postal Regulatory Commission on its progress in including on-time delivery data for newspapers in its periodical service performance measurement; and
·         Instruct the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study and submit a report to Congress on options for alternate USPS pricing schemes to improve the financial position of periodicals.

Click HERE for full bill text.

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