Editing United States Postal Service (section)

== History ==
{{Further|United States Post Office Department|Postage stamps and postal history of the United States}}
{{See also|2020 United States Postal Service crisis|Postal Service Reform Act of 2022}}
The first national postal agency in the US, known as the ''United States Post Office'' was founded by the [[Second Continental Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]] on July 26, 1775, at the beginning of the [[American Revolution]]. [[Benjamin Franklin]] was appointed the first [[United States Postmaster General|postmaster general]]; he also served a similar position for the American colonies.<ref>{{cite web|title=Benjamin Franklin. World of Influence. Man of Letters {{!}} PBS|url=https://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/l3_world_letters.html|access-date=March 11, 2021|website=www.pbs.org|archive-date=November 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127012817/http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/l3_world_letters.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[United States Post Office Department|Post Office Department]] was created in 1792 with the passage of the [[Postal Service Act]]. The appointment of local postmasters was a major venue for delivering patronage jobs to the party that controlled the White House. Newspaper editors often were named.  It was elevated to a [[Cabinet of the United States|cabinet-level]] department in 1872, and was transformed by the [[Postal Reorganization Act of 1970]] into the U.S. Postal Service as an independent agency.<ref>Postal Reorganization Act, Pub. Law No. 91-375, 84 Stat. 719, at 720 (August 12, 1970), codified at {{usc|39|201}}.</ref> Since the early 1980s, many direct tax subsidies to the USPS (with the exception of subsidies for costs associated with disabled and overseas voters) have been reduced or eliminated.<ref name="PBS 5 things">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/five-things/the-u-s-postal-service/11433/ |title=The U.S. Postal Service; PBS|date=November 13, 2011|publisher=PBS|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014091138/https://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/five-things/the-u-s-postal-service/11433/ |archive-date=October 14, 2019|access-date=December 1, 2013}}</ref>

The [[United States Information Agency]] (USIA) helped the Post Office Department, during the Cold War, to redesign stamps to include more patriotic slogans.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Modarressi |first1=Matin |title="Our American Credo": The US Post Office and the Cold War |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/our-american-credo-us-post-office-and-cold-war |website=www.wilsoncenter.org |date=November 8, 2023 |publisher=The Wilson Center |access-date=1 April 2024}}</ref> {{Anchor| strike & reorganization}}On March 18, 1970, postal workers in New York City—upset over low wages and poor working conditions, and emboldened by the Civil Rights Movement—[[U.S. postal strike of 1970|organized a strike]]. The strike initially involved postal workers in only New York City, but it eventually gained support of over 210,000 postal workers across the nation.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Great 1970 Mail Strike that Stunned the Country |work=Labor History Articles |publisher=American Postal Workers Union |date=March 2017 |url=https://www.apwu.org/labor-history-articles/great-1970-mail-strike-stunned-country |access-date=April 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422103224/https://www.apwu.org/labor-history-articles/great-1970-mail-strike-stunned-country |archive-date=April 22, 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> While the strike ended without any concessions from the federal government, it did ultimately allow for postal worker unions and the government to negotiate a contract which gave the unions most of what they wanted, as well as the signing of the [[Postal Reorganization Act]] by President [[Richard Nixon]] on August 12, 1970. The act replaced the cabinet-level Post Office Department with a new federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service,<ref>{{cite web |author1=Boyd, Deanna |author2=Chen, Kendra |title=Postal Strike and Reorganization: Reinventing the System |work=The History and Experience of African Americans in America's Postal Service |publisher=[[National Postal Museum]] |year=2019 |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/AfricanAmericanHistory/p11.html |access-date=April 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801074856/https://postalmuseum.si.edu/AfricanAmericanHistory/p11.html |archive-date=August 1, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and took effect on July 1, 1971.<ref>{{cite web |last=Piazza |first=Daniel |title=8-cent Postal Service Emblem |publisher=Smithsonian [[National Postal Museum]] |date=April 15, 2008 |url=https://arago.si.edu/category_2038936.html |access-date=April 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306114222/http://arago.si.edu/category_2038936.html |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Among the changes from the Postal Reorganization Act, a key aspect was the requirement for the USPS to be self-financing, which introduced a conflict with its other requirement to provide a nationwide service.<ref name=Lee>{{Cite news| last = Lee| first = Ella| title =USPS gets a financial overhaul: Here's what we know about the Postal Service Reform Act  | work=USA Today | access-date =September 27, 2024| date =April 6, 2022 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/06/usps-reform-act-what-to-know/9482162002/}}</ref> The next major legislation affecting the service, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, was passed in 2006.<ref name=Lee/> This act limited the services that the Postal Service could offer to only those it already provided and also established a requirement for the USPS to save money for the medical benefits of future retirees.<ref name=Lee/> The Act set a goal to save $5 billion per year for the first 10 years of a 50-year schedule, however within 6 years the Postal Service began to default on its payments.<ref name=Lee/> The Postal Service experienced lower revenues as mail use declined in the 2010s.<ref name=Bogage>{{Cite news| last = Bogage| first =Jason| title =House Republicans and Democrats agree on $57 billion USPS overhaul | newspaper=The Washington Post | access-date =September 27, 2024| date =February 8, 2022 | url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/02/08/usps-dejoy-congress-reform/}}</ref> In 2012, in order to be able to meet obligations for payroll and continuing its operations, the Postal Service defaulted on payments due for retirements benefits in August and again in September that year.<ref name="npr.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/08/01/157717281/usps-defaults-on-5-5-billion-payment-to-treasury |title=USPS Defaults on $5.5 Billion Payment to Treasury |website=NPR |date=August 2012 |last1=Peralta |first1=Eyder |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212020326/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/08/01/157717281/usps-defaults-on-5-5-billion-payment-to-treasury |url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2014, it defaulted on the payments for the fourth time,<ref name="auto1">{{cite web |url=http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2014/pr14_059.htm |title=U.S. Postal Service Reports Revenue Increase, $5.5 Billion Loss in Fiscal 2014 |publisher=USPS |date=November 14, 2014 |access-date=June 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150521053051/http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2014/pr14_059.htm |archive-date=May 21, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and continued to default into 2017.<ref name="govexec.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.govexec.com/management/2017/09/usps-defaults-billions-mandatory-payments-despite-scheduled-relief/141404/ |first1=Eric |last1=Katz |website=Government Executive |title=USPS Defaults on Billions in Mandatory Payments, Despite Scheduled Relief |date=September 29, 2017 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212020937/https://www.govexec.com/management/2017/09/usps-defaults-billions-mandatory-payments-despite-scheduled-relief/141404/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The Postal Service sought financial reforms from Congress for relief from the funding obligation and debt from the defaults.<ref name=Bogage/> Legislation was introduced in Congress in 2016<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |last1=Chaffetz |first1=Jason |title=Text – H.R.5714 – 114th Congress (2015–2016): Postal Service Reform Act of 2016 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5714/text#HFBD89F2925164BD4A6495C540F757BD0 |website=Congress.gov |access-date=March 15, 2022 |date=December 8, 2016}}</ref> as well as in 2019, aiming to remove the benefits funding obligations,<ref>{{Cite news| last = Katz| first =Eric| title =House Votes to End Controversial USPS Payments for Future Retirees' Health Care | work=Government Executive | access-date =November 1, 2024| date =February 5, 2020 | url =https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2020/02/house-votes-end-controversial-usps-payments-future-retirees-health-care/162912/}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web |last1=DeFazio |first1=Peter A. |title=Text – H.R.2382 – 116th Congress (2019–2020): USPS Fairness Act |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2382/text |website=Congress.gov |access-date=March 15, 2022 |date=February 10, 2020|archive-date=May 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502133252/https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2382/all-actions|url-status=live}}</ref>  however no new legislation was passed until the 2022 Postal Service Reform Act (PSRA).<ref name=Bogage/> The PSRA  was signed into law in April 2022.<ref name=Lee/> It forgave $57 billion in Postal Service debt and released it from the obligation to set aside funds for future retirees' healthcare, as well as adding requirements for delivery timing and reporting on performance metrics, and allowing the Postal Service to offer some non-mail services.<ref name=Bogage/><ref name=CBS-PSRA>{{Cite news| last =| first =| title =Postal Service reform bill heads to Senate after strong bipartisan House vote | work=CBS News | access-date =September 27, 2024| date =February 9, 2022 | url =https://www.cbsnews.com/news/postal-service-bill-usps-reform-senate-house-vote/}}</ref>