United States Postal Service

The United States Postal Service (USPS) was founded in 1971, replacing the United States Post Office Department. Its headquarters is in Washington D.C. In the United States, it is referred to as "the post office", "the postal service", or just "the mail". Its job is to deliver letters, packages, and other items to people.

United States citizens can use their mailbox flag to signal USPS drivers to deliver the mailbox's contents to a different place.

History

The Postal Service was originally the Post Office Department, which began in 1775. In 1971, the Postal Reorganization Act went into effect, creating the United States Postal Service. Since then, the Postal Service has had 14 Postmaster Generals, the current one being Louis DeJoy.

Organization

The Postal Service is led by the Board of Governors, 11 people that guide the Postal Service. Nine of the governors are chosen by the president and confirmed by the senate, similar to the president's cabinet. Only four governors can be in one political party to avoid political hardship. The nine governors choose a tenth governor to be the Postmaster General who leads the Postal Service. The now 10 governors choose a Deputy Postmaster General to assist the Postmaster General. The Postmaster General and Deputy Postmaster General do not leave their office until the Board of Governors votes them out.^[1]

Mission

The purpose of the Postal Service is to deliver equal service to all citizens of the United States. The Postal Service has almost 500,000 employees^[2] to deliver and sort mail, as well as run management and clerk positions. The Postal Service is for the service of Americans, so it is generally left out of politics between political parties.

Laws Affecting The Postal Service

U.S. Constitution

The Constitution gives Congress the ability to "establish post offices and post roads." Congress used this power to originally create the Post Office as well as give it power.

U.S. Code Title 39

This code outlines the duties and powers of the Postal Service, making its mission of service clear.^[3]

Postal Reorganization Act

This law, signed in 1970 by President Richard Nixon, separated the Postal Service from the rest of the Executive Branch, allowing them to act independently without approval from Congress.

Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act

This law, signed in 2006, requires the Postal Service to put money into their Retiree Health Benefit Program ahead of time. This would allow them to save money for the future. Since this law, however, the Postal Service has often been losing money due to high operating costs.