Budzinski Presses Postmaster General Over USPS Delays in Rural Illinois

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Budzinski (IL-13) at a House Oversight Committee hearing called on Postmaster General David Steiner to address flailing USPS delivery rates that have impacted rural communities in her district. Budzinski questioned why the Postmaster has continued to implement the so-called “Delivering for America” plan when the initiative has been proven to worsen on-time mail delivery rates and slow outgoing mail in rural areas.

“Communities across Central and Southern Illinois have endured unreliable and delayed mail delivery for far too long. It’s time for the Postmaster General to take an honest, hard look at the failures of the Delivering for America Plan and work with Congress to finally deliver real solutions,” said Congresswoman Budzinski. “I will continue pushing for meaningful legislative reforms and use my role as Chair of the Congressional Postal Service Caucus to hold the Postmaster General accountable and demand action plans that will actually improve mail delivery, not maintain the status quo.”

Congresswoman Budzinski has been a staunch advocate of improved mail service, while strongly opposing efforts toward privatization and proposals that would reduce service reliability and speed for rural communities. Budzinski leads the bipartisan Congressional Postal Service Caucus, a bipartisan group that focuses on these issues in the House of Representatives.

You can find a video of Budzinski’s opening remarks HERE and her remarks as prepared for delivering below:

Good Afternoon. Thank you Chairman Sessions and Ranking Member Mfume for giving me the chance to speak.

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Secondly, I want to thank Mr. Marroni and Postmaster General Steiner for being here today.

In Fiscal Year 2025, the Postal Service lost about $9 billion. In the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2026, USPS lost an additional $1.4 billion.

Postmaster General Steiner, you have stated that you believe the Postal Service is headed towards a financial crisis – I think we can agree on that. But you’ve also said you want to push forward with the Delivering for America Plan – which has only worsened delivery for the past 6 years.

As we enter year 6 of the Delivering for America plan, I remain concerned that the Postal Service seems committed to pushing forward with the plan despite steep declines in on-time delivery and slowed outgoing mail from rural areas like the ones I represent in Central and Southern Illinois.

For example, in Fiscal Year 2019, the on-time delivery for two-day first class mail was 92 percent.

6 years later – it’s down to just 83 percent, with areas like downstate Illinois consistently seeing on-time delivery fall below 80 percent and even 70 percent at various points in 2024 and 2025.

That is why I believe that it is really important that we continue to have a strong Postal Regulatory Commission and Inspector General to ensure that we have oversight of the Postal Service and its implementation of the Delivering for America plan.

It’s unacceptable. And it’s part of why I started the bipartisan Congressional Postal Service Caucus, to improve on-time delivery, while protecting USPS employees.

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