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U.S. lawmakers and ethics advocates on Friday reiterated their calls for the sacking of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy after the Washington Post revealed that the U.S. Postal Service awarded a $ 120 million contract to XPO Logistics, a company whom he helped manage and “with whom his family maintains financial ties.”
“Louis DeJoy is a walking conflict of interest”, declared Representative Gerry Connolly (D-Va.). “He had no reason to be appointed Postmaster General, and he has no reason to continue serving.”
“It is high time to #FireDeJoyadded Connolly, chairman of the House government operations subcommittee, which has legislative jurisdiction over the postal service.
Connolly was far from the only one responding to the report by calling for DeJoy’s impeachment.
“How the hell is Louis DeJoy still the Postmaster General? request Representative Joe Neguse (D-Colo.). “It is high time to #FireDeJoy. “
DeJoy’s personal spokesperson referred most of the newspaper’s questions to the USPS, whose spokesperson “said DeJoy was not involved in the procurement process for the XPO contract, which was a call-off. ‘offers “. The company spokesperson noted that XPO did not get any other contracts it was looking for.
Under the contract XPO got, it will take over two centers that organize and load the mail. Dena Briscoe, president of the American Postal Workers Union branch for Washington and Southern Maryland, told the To post that the move looked like a “slap in the face” for the workers.
“It’s the work that they’ve been doing for years and years and years,” Briscoe said, “and you’re going to separate it from them, put it in another building, give it to a company that previously had a [top executive] he is now our Postmaster General. Many of our members are offended. “
As the To post detailed:
The new contract will deepen the postal service’s relationship with XPO Logistics, where DeJoy served as general manager of supply chain from 2014 to 2015 after the company purchased New Breed Logistics, the trucking company he owned for over 30 years. Since becoming Postmaster General, DeJoy, companies controlled by DeJoy and his family foundation have sold between $ 65.4 million and $ 155.3 million of XPO shares, according to financial information, tax documents. foundation and securities deposits.
But DeJoy’s family businesses continue to lease four office buildings in North Carolina to XPO, according to its financial information and state property records.
The leases could generate up to $ 23.7 million in rent for DeJoy businesses over the next decade.
Although XPO’s leases were approved by government ethics officials before DeJoy took office last year, some experts are still critical, such as Virginia Canter, chief ethics counselor for the watchdog group. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
“There is no doubt that he continues to take advantage of a postal service contractor,” Canter said. “He can comply with these technical legal requirements … but it creates an apparent problem as to whether it is in his financial best interests to continue to develop a policy that would benefit entrepreneurs like XPO.”
Friday’s calls to the USPS board of governors to fire DeJoy are just the latest from last year. He has been accused of slowing down the postal service ahead of the 2020 election and now faces a criminal investigation into GOP political donations; DeJoy has denied any wrongdoing on both fronts.
“DeJoy’s 14 months as Postmaster General have been a masterclass on cronyism and cheating,” Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) noted in response to To post report. “The degree of mistrust I had in him and his efforts to intentionally interfere with delivery times to [USPS] could have filled the Grand Canyon. The Board of Governors should #FireDeJoy. “
Rep. Bill Pascrell (DN.J.), who led previous calls to the board to oust the Postmaster General, noted Friday, “Louis DeJoy should have been fired a long time ago for his sabotage of the USPS. He is the subject of a federal criminal investigation and can now use your post office to get his mouth wet. who protect him must first be fired. It’s a scandal. “
DeJoy is spearheading a controversial 10-year reform plan for the USPS that would involve cutting hours, slowing first-class delivery and increasing prices, an approach that has also prompted demands for his immediate eviction.
The 10-year plan was at the heart of a Board of Governors meeting on Friday, the first that included the three members appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate.
Ronald Stroman, the former postal deputy minister and one of Biden’s candidates, took the more aggressive approach in criticizing DeJoy’s plan, saying delivery slowdowns would hamper the agency’s ability to provide fast and reliable service without federal funding, “reported Government executive.
Depending on the point of sale:
He said the plan is “strategically ill-conceived, creates dangerous risks that are not justified by the relatively poor financial performance, and does not meet our responsibility as a vital part of America’s critical infrastructure.” USPS expects to save about $ 170 million per year through the changes, a small fraction of its operating budget.
“There is no compelling financial reason to make this change,” Stroman said. “The relatively minor savings associated with changing service standards, even if realized, will not have a significant impact on the financial future of the postal service.”
Stroman accused DeJoy and existing board members of ditching the Postal Service’s most loyal and dependent customers and said the plan would speed up the diversion of people and businesses from the Postal System. He added that “rarely, if ever” has a change in USPS policy been so widely rejected.
DeJoy, for his part, admitted to the board that the plan involved “uncomfortable changes”, while doubling down: “We are confident that we are moving in the right direction.”
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) Disagrees. In a March letter urging DeJoy’s dismissal, she wrote that his “pathetic 10-year plan to weaken the USPS demonstrates that he is a clear and current threat to the future of the Postal Service and the well-being of millions of Americans, especially small business owners, seniors, and veterans, who depend on an efficient and reliable USPS to conduct their day-to-day operations, participate safely in democracy, and receive essential medicines. ”
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