Reps. Huffman, Stansbury Led Bipartisan Letter to Postmaster DeJoy Defending Constituents Against Soaring PO Box Rates
Press release from the Office of Representative Huffman:
…U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA-02) and Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-01) led their colleagues in a bipartisan letter to United States Postmaster Louis DeJoy and Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Michael Kubayanda regarding recent changes that have affected PO Box pricing. Over the last six months, there has been increased outcry from constituents whose PO Box rates have skyrocketed without advanced notice.
“We write to express serious concerns over the United States Postal Service’s request to expand the radius for a competitive designation for PO Box service locations to 8 miles, resulting in the redesignation of 291 PO Box service locations as competitive. This redesignation, approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission in Order 6234 on July 21, 2022, has led to egregious and unexpected price increases for consumers. This represents a departure from eleven years of established policy for competitive and market dominant PO Box service locations. We are concerned by the Postal Service’s lack of community engagement to justify this request. We urge the Postal Service to reconsider this action and ensure that it engages with impacted customers before making such changes in the future,” the members wrote in their letter.
The members went on to request answers to the following questions no later than September 1, 2023:
- What, if any, research did the Postal Service conduct with affected customers to support their request?
- What, if any, advance notice did the Postal Service provide customers prior to implementing these price increases?
- What is the process to redesignate a PO Box service location back to market dominant?
- Are there any minimum service requirements (hours of operation, number of customers, accessibility, etc.) for a private sector alternative to trigger a redesignation of a PO box service location?
- How does the Postal Service ensure that a private sector alternative remains open and available for customers to use?
- If a private sector alternative closes or moves outside the radius, does the Postal Service then redesignate the PO Box service location as market dominant because there is no longer a competitor?
- The Postal Service excluded PO Box service locations with less than 250 customers from their request. If any PO Box service locations drop below 250 customers, will the Postal Service change the designation back to market dominant?
In addition to Reps. Huffman and Stansbury, the letter was signed by Representatives Chris Pappas (D-NH-01), James P. McGovern (D-MA-02), Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02), Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01), Val Hoyle (D-OR-04), and Nick LaLota (R-NY-01).
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What?
before you give up your gas cook top because of climate change, realize its because of the earth the temps can change, and not your stove or suv.
When the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on Jan. 15, it sent a tsunami racing around the world and set off a sonic boom that circled the globe twice. The underwater eruption in the South Pacific Ocean also blasted an enormous plume of water vapor into Earth’s stratosphere – enough to fill more than 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. The sheer amount of water vapor could be enough to temporarily affect Earth’s global average temperature.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” said Luis Millán, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. He led a new study examining the amount of water vapor that the Tonga volcano injected into the stratosphere, the layer of the atmosphere between about 8 and 33 miles (12 and 53 kilometers) above Earth’s surface.
In the study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, Millán and his colleagues estimate that the Tonga eruption sent around 146 teragrams (1 teragram equals a trillion grams) of water vapor into Earth’s stratosphere – equal to 10% of the water already present in that atmospheric layer. That’s nearly four times the amount of water vapor that scientists estimate the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines lofted into the stratosphere.
Millán analyzed data from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument on NASA’s Aura satellite, which measures atmospheric gases, including water vapor and ozone. After the Tonga volcano erupted, the MLS team started seeing water vapor readings that were off the charts. “We had to carefully inspect all the measurements in the plume to make sure they were trustworthy,” said Millán.
A Lasting Impression
Volcanic eruptions rarely inject much water into the stratosphere. In the 18 years that NASA has been taking measurements, only two other eruptions – the 2008 Kasatochi event in Alaska and the 2015 Calbuco eruption in Chile – sent appreciable amounts of water vapor to such high altitudes. But those were mere blips compared to the Tonga event, and the water vapor from both previous eruptions dissipated quickly. The excess water vapor injected by the Tonga volcano, on the other hand, could remain in the stratosphere for several years.
This extra water vapor could influence atmospheric chemistry, boosting certain chemical reactions that could temporarily worsen depletion of the ozone layer. It could also influence surface temperatures. Massive volcanic eruptions like Krakatoa and Mount Pinatubo typically cool Earth’s surface by ejecting gases, dust, and ash that reflect sunlight back into space. In contrast, the Tonga volcano didn’t inject large amounts of aerosols into the stratosphere, and the huge amounts of water vapor from the eruption may have a small, temporary warming effect, since water vapor traps heat. The effect would dissipate when the extra water vapor cycles out of the stratosphere and would not be enough to noticeably exacerbate climate change effects.
You seem lot again. This is an article about the price of Post Office boxes, not climate change.
And a volcano can’t cause the climate to begin warming over a hundred years before it erupts.
nither can an suv
Short range effect is to heat the atmosphere but in longer run it may cool the oceans some because more sunlight will be converted to infrared (when it it hits extra water in atmosphere) before it has a chance to heat oceans directly.
Thank you, Mr. Clark
I know we are way off topic here, but I seldom get to meet anyone that is willing to think objectively.
I have brought up the Tongas Volcano before, and I completely agree with your assessment. I have an open mind, so every now and again a fact slips in that doesn’t fit the narrative. Man Caused Global warming is one of them.
I believe mankind is completely irresponsible and careless in how we have trashed the planet, but global warming is beyond our control. I listed a link below that shows a graph of the last 500,000 years. The world has been warmer and colder than the present many times. We are now in a steep warming cycle that started 20,000ears ago it has warmed steadily and consistently until now. There is also a trend of it tapering off.
https://a.atmos.washington.edu/academics/classes/2001Q1/211/Group_projects/group_D_F00/index.html#:~:text=TO%20THE%20LAST%2020%2C000%20YEARS&text=The%20average%20global%20temperature%20may,occurred%20for%20about%2015%2C000%20years.
I am concerned about the methane hydrates that exist in permafrost and deep ocean trenches. When that releases from the heat it will snowball the warming period. It’s like Sisyphus got his rock over the hill and is going own the other side. There will be no stopping it.
Link to methane problems:
https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/methanes_contribution_to_global_warming_is_worse_than_you_thought/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=tfd_dsa&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2qKmBhCfARIsAFy8buI47oUDJP8FrmCtyzt08rqlERn6lIXDpekvPcHCaeabAeJfoYrSBjIaAjlvEALw_wcB
With apologies to Chicken Little.
Ernie
I really think the switch from rallying around fighting pollution to rallying around fighting global warming has a huge divisive effect on people. In the 70’s Everyone was against pollution, both local and global, both left and right and inbetween. People were very united against that. Pollution had reached a level where rivers caught on fire and the forced mitigations cost large companies a lot of money. There is such a polarity with global warming that we cannot even objectively discuss what percentage of it is caused by a natural cycle and how much of an effect percentage wise is caused by humans. That lack of objectivity doesn’t anyone or anything any good.
Add to it the guilt and the fear of it being “all” our fault, and that we and others species are all going to die/become extinct and you have a dysfunctional frozen reaction from most people, and the remainder are so frantic that they ignore all the economic injustices being perpetuated – because they look inconsequential compared to extinction.
It’s gotten to the point that neither political party in the US even bothers seriously addressing labor or housing issues or even the war machine, because the population doesn’t bother being up in arms about much of it. Because, why bother? We’re all going to die.
Well, no, we don’t know that.. Meanwhile a lot of people around the world die from lack of food or lack of housing alone. And in our own country we have uncounted hundreds of thousands of US citizen economical refuges living under bridges.
Lynn H
There was a warming period from about 18,000 years ago to about 10,000 years ago at which point it stabalized. It then began warming again, much more rapidly than at any other point known to science, coinciding with the beginning of the industrial revolution.
Interestingly enough, if you have cataracts, you can get a new “light-adjustable” lens implant…
After it heals up real good, the Surgeon exposes the lens to a Ultraviolet beam, and the lens changes shape until your vision is perfectly tuned…
Of course, you have to pay, since your insurance won’t cover it and Medicare won’t either…
$3000-$4000 per eye…
Thanks. That is interesting… slightly off topic, but interesting.
However, commenters here have taught me to not trust medical science. I prefer to do my own eye surgery.
Most people get cataracts if they live long enough. They can do amazing things with those replacement lenses.
You wouldn’t happen to have a link to light-adjustable” lens implant would you?
https://www.rxsight.com/us
Very “entertaining”…
But wait…
Aren’t you one of “those of us that understand the scientific process” folks that insist that “correlation is not causation”…???
(Unless of course it suits your agenda, that is, apparently…)
How many thousands of non covid related excess deaths “coinciding with the beginning” of unprecedented mass administration of the covid vaccines..???
How many thousands of VAERS reported deaths from the vaccine that you have incredulously mischaracterized as “innocuous”.
Yet you make no correlation is causation, in that regard, whatsoever, as you do with your noncommittal suggestion that global warming is due to the industrial revolution…
It’s a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?
If it was a one-off thing, occurrence, you’d be right. But the relationship between Carbon Dioxide levels and temperature is well established.
Your new updated booster should be ready soon.
Bourla is expecting a COVID wave this fall..
Where have we heard that line of bullshit before…???
And cardiac arrest calls, in red, compared to vaccine administration, look like your carbon dioxide/ temperature comparison…
But you will not admit it.
Right back at you…
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-10928-z
‘Increased emergency cardiovascular events among under-40 population in Israel during vaccine rollout and third COVID-19 wave’
Off topic and off the mark. I’m concerned you might be off your rocker.
“A study noting an increase in ambulance calls for cardiovascular problems during January to May 2021 does not provide proof that this was caused by the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.” https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-study-emergency/fact-check-study-using-israeli-emergency-services-data-does-not-prove-covid-19-vaccines-cause-heart-problems-idUSL2N2X21LM
Here is another look…
This item is about the freaking post office.
Yeah, good luck with that too. But maybe DeJoy is reading. Besides, I already said I knew it was off subject.
The pissed office.
Thank you for nothing but a huge pile of irrelevant words. What a jerk
And again. What?
I’m so confused. What is this about? Why would Redwood Acres Raceway make this announcement? What is the rate increase? Percentage? 8 Mile radius from what and where.
The only thing this announcement does for me is teach me humility. I must be truly stupid. I don’t get it.
Sigh…I used a template from the last press release because I was in a hurry to get to bed as it was after midnight…and I forgot to change the FROM section. Fixed now. Sorry!
I was being one third facetious, one third asshole, one third sick sense of humor.
A guy told me once that nobody can call me a half-wit… I don’t make it that far.
Effing DeJoy. Doing his best to destroy the USPS so his buddies can privatize it for profit. I try not to wish anyone ill, but he makes it difficult.
So you are saying socialist mail is inherently better and cheaper than capitalist mail?
Well said. DeJoyless’ agenda is very clear and as you say. And Biden hasn’t yet fired him?
How much does a PO Box even cost?
The fees to mail something are also highly inflated, and the Postal Workers are obiously trained to charge as much as the customer appears to be able to afford…
Upsell to Postal Customers is inappropriate, and most of what you are paying for goes to support a constellation of retired postal workers…
If you don’t like the service, use a different approach, like a POB in town.
Private “mailbox” operations are interesting hustles, like storage garages, carwashes and laundromats…
Take over. Start your own.
Our Government is great for supporting the rich and the poor, while everyone else gets to work and pay up…
Mine is around 250$ a year now, it’s in town
its in garberville I got it because it was cheap at the time and tweakers were stealing mail on AP road, I’m going back to the mailbox.
It used to be about $15 a year
Your POB is the reason for the inflated prices. USPS deems their boxes competitive and screws everyone, especially those in an area that are box only service. Basically strong arming and extorting people who can’t get their mail any other way.
OH Jared, how bout working on something that affects so much more? LIKE this disaster the people in the White House have caused?
the increase in oil prices is helping drive the gas price surge, and this oil price surge “has to do with Russia and Saudi Arabia cutting oil production. In addition, we’ve seen heat-related outages at some of the largest refineries in the country in the last couple of weeks in Texas and Louisiana, at a time that gasoline demand is at its highest and gasoline inventories are at their lowest July levels since 2015.”He also said, “Up until the end of July — or up until the end of June, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was releasing oil almost on a weekly basis, which was helping to add supply into a market. That’s part of the reason why Saudi Arabia and Russia cut production. But now, the releases from the SPR have ended and that’s actually probably pushing prices up, because now, the SPR is slowly being refilled.”
It’s an old ploy. They hold up a dead red herring and say “don’t look over there, look at this really neat fish”, while the world goes to hell.
Yeah, they hold up a red herring or a picture of a UFO.
I generally admire you Ernie. Kinda surprised you make fun of Congresspeople looking out for the poorest among US.
Ben,
You are right. Not only is it unequal and unfair, it’s discriminatory. The post office drives trucks all over for free delivery. Yet charges people for in-town boxes, that all they have to do is put the mail in. Is that right?
I already said that I didn’t understand the issue, I still don’t. It’s just that I get so tired of politicians posturing and puffing and nothing happens. I’m just afraid that this is one more of their issues that never get taken care of.
Good luck and I’m sorry that I didn’t understand.
Maybe the frustration comes from lack of understanding?
And even understanding that could lead to less frustration.
Thanks Ernie. You are a good man to hear other points of view and, as you feel needed, correct yourself.
Do you get your mail DELIVERED for free to your home? Many people in this area do not. A post office box is the only viable option for many people to receive there mail. Is this unimportant to you. Dtay on topic and try to stay in character. You are most often somewhat attuned to the plight of the little guy.
(I think charging for home delivery of the mail would get EVERYONE’S attention)
The postal delivery EV’s a comith’!
They haven’t purchased any electric vehicles.
From this March 1st article:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-postal-service-starts-nationwide-electric-vehicle-fleet-buying-9250-evs-and-thousands-of-charging-stations/
“The U.S. Postal Service’s plans for a nationwide fleet of electric vehicles are getting closer to being realized. The service awarded contracts on Tuesday for 9,250 battery electric vehicles and for more than 14,000 charging stations.”
Those USPS EVs have not arrived yet but they are coming.
Well, maybe by 2033…
Easily may not be in my lifetime, but I will believe it when I don’t hear it…
How about helping out with high gas Pge and Arcata water sewer bills that take much more money from us ?
My PO Box Fee has tripled in five years. Which seems very excessive. Don’t know a thing about nomenclature. Is Pigment Press considered “competition”, if so, I call BS
How much does it cost?
Thanks, Karl.
Also, how much are you willing to pay, to receive advertising and other junk mail?
I’m getting spam and phishing letters, and obviously fraudulent attempts to steal money…
I still get delivery service, but it comes later and later in the day, and I do all my monetary business online.
Fuck the USPS! Their service is bad, and their employees are not any better than Wal-Mart’s.
My information is that a post office box is somewhere between $5 and $30 a month. I wouldn’t pay that.
Good internet is costly. Starlink is $120/month.
Good luck, out in the boonies, and, you get what you pay for.
5 and 30$
yea right
got mine in 1994 and it was 13 bucks now it’s more than 200$
Went from $10/year to $168/year. Access was 24/7, now Monday to Friday 8:45 to 4:45pm (closed for all holidays) Love my Post Office, but for people on a fixed income, the USPS keep claiming a larger share.
Put everyone on “auto-pay”, and quit the USPS.
It’s 2023. Who uses the Post Office?
Plus auto-pay does the books for you. Win, win.
The smallest po boxes in redway are now $166. It went up $10 since December. Fees have been going up by $10 every six months or so. Im on a fixed income and can no longer afford the yearly box fee. I also got charged a $25 late fee, even tho i didn’t get a renewal notice until way after the due date. Im at the point of giving up my po box of 43 years, and receiving mail general delivery. Why should i be paying that much for junk mail and a few bills? The USPS has a regulation that people can receive a free box if one fits the criteria. In some parts of the country people pay as little as $6 for their box.
Louis De Joy and the Republican’s way of killing off the post office once and for all. Its a pity, the USPS was one of America’s institutions that actually worked for the people.
I pay nothing for my p.o.box because there is no home delivery (which is free) where I live. I would love to have mail delivered to my home, but a free post office box is ok although access to my box is limited by open hours which have been drastically reduced.
same where I live
Lucky you. I have the choice of a mail box along the road 2 miles from my house and free delivery 2 days a week (and a virtual certainty that it will get broken into and/or vandalized) or an expensive post office box. The price sharply escalated last year. I asked the postmaster about it and he said it was not under his control to set the price, and the reason it doubled was because there was another outlet in town that offered mail services. So, let’s see, the best way to deal with competition is to sharply jack your prices?
I have a relative that was working as a mail deliverer when USPS made their deal with Amazon. He said his work tripled; his pay, of course, remained the same. He quit.
While some people love to tell us how the Democrats are destroying this country, I wonder if they are willing to acknowledge that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is a blight upon the landscape. He has personally donated millions to such luminaries, oops, I mean loonies, as Rudy Guliani, George W Bush, and what-me-worry Trump, so I guess he would have no problem paying $250 for a friggin’ post office box. End of rant.
USPS regulation 4.2.5 Group E, Free Post Office Box
Criteria for receiving a free Po Box
https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2013/pb22374/html/updt_002.htm
It seems a little confusing but does it mean that basically no service is within a certain distance of the. address? I’m no big on government freebies but, since a PO box is less costly than delivery and certain US agencies like IRS require mail delivery for notices and such, it does seem irresponsible to demand so much money for a mail box. Heck, small local POs are valuable centers for rural people to gather. I know when my local one was closed, the neighbors (neighbor might be 20 miles away) lost touch with each other all together. Some government services are worth more than just their dollar value.
If your PO does not deliver mail and you live within X distance from it you can get a free PO box. HOWEVER, if you live in an apartment building OR a trailer park within X distance then you have to pay for the box. Seems to discriminate against renters.
One box per address so if you are in a mobile home park or r.v park your out of luck. Now if you can get owners of these businesses to sort mail in their office or put in boxes where I live we have to pay even though we don’t have home service and fall under group E.
Am I missing something? My PO Box is free, because the USPS chooses not to deliver to my address. I have to sign a document attesting to my physical address every 6 months, but that’s it.
Some of the kicker comes when the post office will deliver but delivery is not safe. Maybe because of a shared address or the residence is at a long distance from the road where deliveries are made or the boxes are subject to theft or vandalism. A lot of the time it might simply be the person does not have a stable address or any address at all and keeping a PO box is better than trying to constantly change it. Around here the trees keep the place where the boxes are out of everyone’s sight and some crooks take advantage of that even breaking locks on boxes to take mail.
I must use a P.O.Box as there is no mail delivery where I live. Because there is no delivery, my post office box is free. I hope this does not change.
Where I live the mail is not delivered; you must have a post office box.
My landlady thought that was not right…and she fought it out with the postmaster.
All my town’s residents now get free post office boxes.
As they should.
Redway has no mail delivery so I have to pay 210$ for a box. The registrar of voters will not send mail to a PO Box, so I do not get to vote. Give em hell.
My voting info and my family’s all comes to our po box.