Reps. Cleaver, Graves, Alford Reintroduce Pony Up Act to Hold USPS Accountable for Late Bills

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO), Sam Graves (R-MO), and Mark Alford (R-MO) re-introduced the Pony Up Act this week, which would protect consumers by putting the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) on the hook for late delivery of bills. The legislation was originally introduced in the 118th Congress. Countless complaints have been registered by constituents whose mail hasn’t arrived on time, or at all in some cases. Many of those complaints have involved paying a late fee due to bills being delivered late. Multiple municipal utilities have also complained that their bills aren’t arriving to their customers in a timely manner. The legislation would require USPS to pay any late fees incurred on bills due to delayed delivery service.

“With extreme weather like we saw earlier this month, not to mention the complete failure of the Postmaster General’s Delivering for America Plan, families and small businesses across my congressional district continue to voice their frustration with delivery service from the USPS. Not only is it preventing them from getting timely information, but it is costing them their hard-earned dollars as they face late fees due to delayed delivery on monthly bills,” said Congressman Cleaver. “We need bipartisan action to ensure these costs are not levied on hardworking Americans who have no ability to prevent these delays, and I’m proud to introduce the Pony Up Act with Reps. Graves and Alford to provide relief.”

“Constituents across my district are routinely frustrated by late mail delivery and they should be—the Postal Service isn’t getting the job done,” said Congressman Graves. “Folks expect their mail to show up on time, six days a week. Instead, they are constantly faced with late deliveries and it’s costing people money. If the Postal Service isn’t going to get the mail out of the processing center and to the mailbox on time, then they should pony up and pay the late fee.”  

“The Postal Service is vital, especially for the many rural communities in Missouri’s Fourth District. The USPS has failed to fulfill their Congressionally mandated six-day delivery window. These delays carry tangible consequences; many Americans have shared accounts with delayed checks resulting in late fees on bill payments. It is only fair that the Postal Service should reimburse taxpayers for late fees accrued due to USPS delays,” said Congressman Alford.

The bill would enable anyone who incurred a late fee due to the late delivery of a bill to file a claim for a late fee repayment. Filing for the repayment would occur online through a portal or in person at any post office. The legislation would also require a report on delayed mail, giving Congress relevant and accurate information to identify how effective the Postal Service is and what average delays look like.

Over the last several years, Congressman Cleaver and Graves have voiced numerous concerns with the USPS about performance issues. In October 2022, Reps. Cleaver and Graves sent a letter to Postmaster General Dejoy expressing concerns about the agency’s failure to fulfill their congressionally mandated duty to provide six-day mail delivery. In December 2022, the Postal Service responded with complaints about low unemployment rates in the Kansas City region and encouraged residents to apply to work on the USPS, without offering a plan for the agency to meet their mandate. 

In March 2023, Reps. Cleaver and Graves called on Postmaster General DeJoy to deliver a plan to address mail delivery delays, fulfill the USPS’s legal obligation to deliver mail 6 days per week, and listen to the concerns of Kansas City residents that had been frustrated with the performance of their local USPS branches. Following that letter, the USPS OIG announced they would conduct an audit of delayed mail and delivery operations in the Northland and the Kansas City area. The audit was completed in August of last year.

In January 2024, Cleaver and Graves led a cohort of fellow lawmakers calling on USPS to halt price increases on stamps, following the agency’s record-breaking fourth rate increase in the last eighteen months. The legislators demanded USPS address the failings of the Delivering for America Plan and turn around performance issues of the USPS in order to legitimize a price hike for consumers.

In April 2024, Rep. Cleaver joined bipartisan calls opposing USPS consolidation and operational changes across the country. The bipartisan group of 20 Members of Congress denounced the U.S. Postal Service’s nationwide consolidation and review announcements that could severely diminish mail service reliability for postal networks nationwide. 

In September 2024, Cleaver, Graves, Alford, and other legislators called on the USPS to implement the audit recommendations from the OIG’S report on the Kansas City P & DC. 

Official text of the Pony Up Act is available here.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.