Merkley, Wyden: Bipartisan Deliver for Democracy Act Will Help Get Crucial Local News into the Hands of Oregonians
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined Vermont’s U.S. Senator Peter Welch and South Dakota’s U.S. Senator Mike Rounds to reintroduce the bipartisan, bicameral Deliver for Democracy Act. This legislation would incentivize reliable service from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and limit excessive rate increases. In recent years, the USPS has raised rates for periodicals under the guise of increased efficiency and improved service, but the changes have not addressed persistent postal delays.
“Local papers are the backbones of our communities—they shine a light on the issues, large and small, that affect the daily lives of folks in Oregon and across the country. We must do all we can to protect local journalism—especially now,” said Merkley. “The bipartisan Deliver for Democracy Act is a critical piece of the puzzle of keeping local journalism alive by addressing the persistent local delivery delays that plague community news outlets and insisting on adequate service from USPS before any rate increases.”
“You can’t know what is going on in your backyard if you don’t have the information on hand. Local journalism is the lifeblood that helps protect American democracy, combat misinformation, and empower communities small or large,” said Wyden. “The Deliver for Democracy Act ensures that USPS makes deliveries on time so local journalism doesn’t become history. As the son of a journalist and as an elected official who holds townhalls each year in each of Oregon’s 36 counties, I won’t stop fighting to help local journalism deliver news coverage right to your doorstep.”
The Deliver for Democracy Act is led in the House by U.S. Representatives Robert Aderholt (R-AL-04) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO-05).
The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 established an inflation-based cap to annual price increases for all market-dominant postal products, including periodicals. In January 2021, the U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) finalized regulations that established three additional forms of rate authority, including one for non-compensatory classes of mail such as periodicals and package services. Under those 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 that authority and raised periodical postage rates by over 40 percent.
Despite such significant rate increases, however, the Postal Service has routinely failed to meet periodicals’ basic needs and achieve the 95 percent on-time delivery performance standard outlined in Postmaster General Louis 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 USPS to either achieve at least a 95 percent on-time delivery rate for periodicals or an improvement of at least 2 percentage points to unlock its 2 percent surcharge authority for that class of mail;
- Direct the USPS to annually report to the PRC 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.
The Deliver for Democracy Act is endorsed by the National Newspaper Association and News/Media Alliance.
Click here to learn more about the Deliver for Democracy Act.
Read the full text of the bill.
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