Post Office is essential, but needs retooled

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., was in Clarksburg Friday, and he was on a mission. He wanted to remind us all that the U.S. Postal Service continues to play a vital role in this day and age, especially during a pandemic and preceding a national election.

“My main concern is, is the Postal Service able to do the job that we intended them to do? Locally it’s operating and operating effectively, and I want to make sure it continues that way,” he said.

Manchin was at the mail distribution center at Eastpointe to thank the workers there for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the lockdowns, the one thing that remained constant was continued mail delivery.

“I’m happy to say, so far what I’ve seen is they are still doing their job, they are doing it effectively and efficiently,” Manchin said.

The senator vowed not to let the Postal Service be privatized, and he said a proposed $25 billion bailout is essential to its survival.

“Who would think that we’d take away the Postal Service and just allow the private sector to deliver your mail for you or deliver your goods? For example, one piece of Priority Mail that’s going to go to Richwood, it’s a two-plus-hour drive that the post office is guaranteed to deliver. I guarantee the private sector isn’t going there until they have more than one piece of mail. It’s just the way it is. We aren’t going to let that happen,” he said.

Here’s something else to consider: Sure, Fed Ex and UPS deliver a lot of packages, but they don’t deliver them everywhere. They depend on the USPS to complete that delivery over what is called “the last mile,” the leg of the journey that the others don’t go.

The Postal Service also was crucial in the delivery of absentee ballots during the West Virginia Primary. Many voters felt it was not safe to go to the polls to vote in June. And some of those same voters hope to be able to vote absentee again in November.

Yes, the Postal Service has been beset by problems for years, but Congress has done little to make corrections. It could go a long way to rectify the situation if lawmakers were to return early from August break and help fund the Postal Service so it can handle the load for the November election, but also implement changes that need to be made to make the service more efficient.

A short-term funding boost may be necessary, but the government shouldn’t have to continue bailing out the Postal Service. Leaders need to find a working business model that can be sustained, because the Postal Service remains essential.

Despite being the butt of jokes over the generations, the Postal Service remains very popular with the American public. Polls show it has a 90% approval rating. Name another government agency that is held in such high esteem.

In addition, the USPS employs hundreds of thousands of people in the country, many of them military veterans.

Sen. Manchin is to be commended for standing up for the Postal Service, and we hope Congress provides the needed funding and guidance to keep it running.

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