Reps. Cleaver, Aderholt Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Help Local Newspapers Overcome Persistent Postal Delays, Ensure Families Receive Local News On Time

(Washington, D.C.) – This week, U.S. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) and Robert Aderholt (R-AL) introduced the bipartisan Deliver for Democracy Act to support local newspapers that have been hampered by persistent postal delays and surging rate increases from the U.S. Postal Service, ensuring American families receive local news on time. The Deliver for Democracy Act was also introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Peter Welch (D-VT) and Mike Rounds (R-SD).

“Missourians rely on the Postal Service for a variety of needs – from receiving life-saving medicines to staying informed about national, state, and local news,” said Representative Cleaver. “Yet, we have seen a disturbing trend since Postmaster General DeJoy assumed his role, as using the Postal Service has become more expensive and simultaneously less reliable. If the USPS is going to continue to raise rates for newspaper deliveries, they need to ensure those deliveries aren’t ‘oldpapers’ by the time they arrive at Missouri doorsteps—which is happening to an unacceptable degree in recent years. Our bipartisan legislation would help to address this ongoing concern and incentivize the USPS to get this issue under control immediately by forbidding the agency to raise rates if they continue missing the mark on their delivery standards.”

“For some time now, it’s become clear the United States Postal Service is not living up to the expectations we all have for it as a federal agency. One of its many recent disappointments has been in the way it handles periodicals like newspapers. In a world where information is being shared ever more quickly, the postal service has, in many ways, gotten slower,” said Rep. Aderholt. “I know some may say, with all the issues we are facing in our country, why focus on the Postal Service? Well, my answer is two-fold: First, it was one of the first acts of our Founding Fathers and the Continental Congress to setup a postal system in 1775, even before we officially declared our Independence. If we can’t get a system older than our nation working correctly, what hope is there for any of the other federal departments? Secondly, there is broad-bipartisan support to get the Postal Service operating as it should. There is concern from every corner of the political spectrum to get our system of delivering mail back to the level of quality it once was and that we all expect. I think my colleague Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) stated it best at a recent Congressional hearing when he said, “the Postal Service needs to be reminded who it was that created them in the first place.”

“A vibrant and healthy local press has always been a defining feature of American democracy. Today, local news offers a crucial alternative to online information ecosystems, which are too often distorted by algorithms that amplify disinformation and confine readers to inescapable echo chambers. But surging rate increases and poor service jeopardize local news outlets’ ability to reach readers and supply the information so essential to an engaged citizenry and a vibrant democracy. It’s time for USPS to remember its mission and meet the media’s basic needs,” said Senator Welch. “Our bipartisan, bicameral Deliver for Democracy Act would help local news stave off extinction by requiring USPS to meet reasonable on-time delivery standards before raising rates.”

“Local journalists work hard every day to deliver news on a timely basis, and the U.S. Postal Service should too,” said Senator Rounds. “Periodical rates have cumulatively increased by over 40 percent since August 2021. Meanwhile, the Postal Service’s on-time delivery performances have not improved, leaving local journalists to pick up the slack by handling delivery on their own in order to make certain their readers receive their papers on time. Our common sense bipartisan legislation helps protect rural newspapers and consumers from unjustified price hikes by making certain USPS is held to a standard for on-time deliveries.”

“NNA welcomes the introduction of the ‘Deliver for Democracy Act’ in the House of Representatives,” said John Galer, Chairman of the National Newspaper Association. “It is critical that the USPS accurately measure the service newspapers receive and be held accountable for failing to meet its service standards. Service quality continues to be a challenge for publishers who are struggling to keep their papers in circulation with another huge rate increase due to take effect this month.  This bill in conjunction with its companion in the Senate provides an opportunity to ensure the USPS can be an effective distribution partner for community newspapers.”

 “Our members are being forced to cope with unsustainable rates from the postal system,” saidNews/Media Alliance President & CEO Danielle Coffey. “If something doesn’t change soon, they will be put out of business and residents will see more news deserts and an even greater loss of quality news and information. We thank Congressmen Aderholt and Cleaver for their leadership and support the Deliver for Democracy Act.”

The Deliver for Democracy Act would: 

• Require the USPS to either achieve at least a 95% on-time delivery rate for periodicals or an improvement of at least 2 percentage points to unlock its 2% surcharge authority for that class of mail;  
• Direct the USPS to annually report to the Postal Regulatory Commission 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 America Act is endorsed by the National Newspaper Association, News Media Alliance, Alabama Press Association, and the South Dakota NewsMedia Association.

The Deliver for America Act is cosponsored by Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), Jim Costa (D-CA), Angie Craig (D-MN), Donald Davis (D-NC), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-CA), Wiley Nickel (D-NC), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), andJoe Wilson (R-SC).

Official text of the Deliver for Democracy 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.