The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“U.S. Postal Service Nominations (Executive Calendar)” mentioning Thomas R. Carper was published in the Senate section on pages S2475-S2476 on May 12.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Senators' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
U.S. Postal Service Nominations
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the two U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors nominees that are before the Senate this afternoon, as well as a third nominee under consideration later this month.
Like our Presiding Officer, I had the privilege of serving our country in a time of war and a time of peace, with three tours in Southeast Asia and a good deal of time in the Cold War after that. My dad had many years in the Navy, and my uncle, my mom's youngest brother, was an enlisted man, a third-class petty officer on an aircraft carrier in 1944, the USS Suwannee. There was a kamikaze attack, and it never recovered.
I know how important it was to my uncle, to my dad, and to myself when we would receive mail, whether it was in Southeast Asia, whether my uncle was deployed on his aircraft carrier or my dad was deployed around the world--how important the mail was.
I know how important the Postal Service was to tens of millions of people who voted last fall in local elections, State elections, and Federal elections across this country--more than ever, ever in the history of our country.
There are some people I know who think that the Postal Service is a relic and is not something that we need. Ask the people who receive their medicine, not just their mail today, not just the things that they have ordered to come and are delivered by the Postal Service--all kinds of stuff--but also the people who receive medicines, whether they are veterans or other people from all walks of life.
The Postal Service today has had a profoundly challenging year. It has had a profoundly challenging year with the global pandemic. Drastic reforms were made without full knowledge of their service impact, and a busy holiday season created tremendous challenges for this venerable institution.
Delays in mail and package delivery increased last year while employees struggled with the effects of the pandemic on themselves and their families. At a time when reliance on mail and package delivery was perhaps higher than ever, the U.S. Postal Service struggled to deliver mail and packages in a timely and a predictable way.
Delays in the mail service have real world impact in communities large and small. In Delaware, veterans of our Armed Forces had to wait longer for lifesaving medications and delayed packages. Our Delaware congressional delegation heard from literally hundreds of constituents in our State about missed paychecks, credit card bills, and court notices.
``Mom and Pop'' shops in my State--and I guess in Arizona, the home of our Presiding Officer--may have suffered from the delays. ``Mom and Pop'' shops in my State and across the country have suffered from delayed deliveries of important supplies to run their business and to stay in business. Many poultry farmers, particularly in more rural parts of Delaware and on the Delmarva Peninsula, to include the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, too, were shocked to find that baby chicks died in the course of delayed postal deliveries to their farms.
These impacts were unacceptable. They were driven by the pandemic and decisions largely made at the top of the Postal Service.
Further, Postmaster DeJoy released in March a 10-year strategic plan that doesn't do enough to address the significant operational challenges being faced right now at the U.S. Postal Service. The plan limits operating hours and lowers service standards, which would harm many seniors and rural Delawareans up and down our State and across the country. If implemented, such a plan would make it harder, not easier, to restore confidence in the Postal Service.
Fast forward to today. By selecting these nominees to the U.S. Postal Board of Governors, it has become clear that President Biden recognizes the dire need to get the Postal Service back to its core mission--
reliable, affordable, and on-time mail delivery service for Americans across this country.
These well-qualified nominees--and they are well-qualified nominees--
also make clear President Biden's desire to drive innovation at the Postal Service that can keep costs low while boosting revenue opportunities and protecting the livelihoods of the men and women who work tirelessly to deliver our mail.
Ron Stroman, whom I have had the privilege of knowing for more than a decade, is himself a former Deputy Postmaster General, a role he served in from 2011 to 2020, a longtime Federal servant--and he is a servant. Mr. Stroman has intimate knowledge of this institution and how to make long-lasting positive changes in large organizations like the U.S. Postal Service.
Amber McReynolds is currently the CEO for the National Vote at Home Institute and Coalition. What do they do? Well, they work to make it easier for Americans to vote securely, to vote safely, and to vote conveniently. Delivering ballots by mail is one of the most solemn obligations that the Postal Service has. It is the underpinning of our democracy in this country.
Finally, Mr. Anton Hajjar is the third nominee, whose nomination we are considering later in this work period, not today. Mr. Hajjar is the former general counsel of the American Postal Workers Union, where he fought to make sure that mail carriers and other postal employees get the support that they deserve.
At the hearing we had last month in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I was thoroughly impressed with each of these nominees and their knowledge of the needs of the Postal Service. All three nominees exhibited professionalism, the expertise, the leadership, and the commitment--the commitment--that we need at the Postal Service Board of Governors. Think of the Board of Governors almost like a board of directors for a company. They don't run the Postal Service every day, but they help set the tone, policies, and oversee the operations.
Further, these three nominees agree that the Postal Service has tremendous opportunities ahead. The Postal Service is currently in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime update to the postal delivery vehicles, with a prime opportunity to be a leader in the fight against climate change. The Postal Service will replace up to 165,000 vehicles.
So, every now and then, we see postal vehicles--probably every day. We probably look at them sometimes and say: That looks like an old vehicle. The reason it looks like an old vehicle is because it is. Many of them are 25 years old. They run on gasoline. They run on diesel. They pollute, and they break down. We have an opportunity here to replace them with a new fleet of low-emission or no-emission vehicles powered by batteries and powered by hydrogen fuel cells
The nominees we are considering today and later this month also agree that the Postal Service has an obligation to work with Congress to enact important postal reform legislation which would help the agency save tens of billions of dollars over the next 10 years.
How might that happen? One, by better integrating postal retirees' healthcare with the Medicare Program and by repealing a burdensome retiree health benefit obligation that most other large companies don't have to bear.
I often refer to a saying made popular by Albert Einstein. I am not smart like Albert Einstein, but I am smart enough to quote Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein used to say: ``In adversity lies opportunity.'' Think about that: ``In adversity lies opportunity.''
The Bible says something like this: In all things, give thanks.
I think it was Henry Ford who said: ``If you think you can or you think you can't, you're right.''
But Einstein said: ``In adversity lies opportunity.'' The Postal Service has faced considerable adversity over the last decade or two. This has been perhaps the most difficult stretch in its long and storied history.
You know, the Postal Service is not an idea that somebody dreamed up 30, 40, 50, or 60 years ago. It was originally outlined in the Constitution and the first Post Master General was a guy named Ben Franklin. After that storied history, we have an opportunity to face the adversities the Postal Service faces today with an opportunity to confirm three well-qualified Postal Service Board of Governors to public service who will be ready on day one--not a month from now or a year from now, but on day one--to ensure that this invaluable institution is able to meet its vital mission.
I am proud to support them. I am proud to say I know them, and I urge my colleagues to support them as well--two of them later today and another one probably later this month.
With that I yield the floor.
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