TOMS RIVER, NJ – As Democrats now blame President Donald J. Trump for the removal of mailboxes across the country, the reality is, the plan was approved and put in motion by the administration of President Barack Obama. Between 2014 and 2016, the U.S. Postal Service conducted an audit that found many mailboxes in America were not being used. That audit concluded on August 22, 2016 when a full report was delivered by the post office with a clear action plan on how to fix the problem.
In September of 2016, Americans started noticing the removal of post office boxes and the USPS Inspector General issued the following statement:
“It’s a tough balancing act for the Postal Service. Some collection boxes are barely used and are expensive to maintain. On the other hand, mail collection boxes are a visible representation of the Postal Service to the American public, and their disappearance has been noted. They also are reliable, secure, and convenient receptacles for mail,” the post office said during President Barack Obama’s presidency. “Our recent audit report looked at the Postal Service’s collection box removal process in the Eastern Area and found that it was not effective. While the area and its 10 districts have procedures for removing and relocating collection boxes, they were not consistently followed.”
The plan formulated during the Obama administration’s audit carried on through the Trump presidency when he was sworn into office in 2017.
In 2016, Obama’s administration agreed with the plan and called for ongoing evaluations to remove underused boxes.
“We recommended management require each district to periodically evaluate whether to relocate or remove underused collection boxes included in the annual density test, maintain supporting documentation for removal and relocation decisions, and establish a process to monitor out-of-service collection boxes, including obtaining approvals and public notification,” the audit stated in its action plan.
Barack Obama’s disdain for the post office during his administration is well-document. He felt the agency was bloated, archaic and had outlived its usefulness as the digital age arrived.
“I mean, if you think about it, UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? No, they are,” Obama told attendees at a New Hampshire town hall back in 2009 “It’s the post office that’s always having problems.”
Obama’s press secretary at the time, Robert Gibbs, laughed off a complaint by then Postmaster general John Potter’s request for aid to the post office.
“I don’t think [President Obama] was saying that what we were going to do is create the postal service for health care,” Gibbs joked, meaning there was going to be no bailout for the agency.
They’re trying to tear apart our Postal Service piece by piece. But Peter DeFazio is defending our right to vote (and every mailbox in America). #USPSisEssential #USPS #SaveThePostOffice pic.twitter.com/f9s6syjuA9
— Peter DeFazio (@DeFazio4Oregon) August 18, 2020