Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act of 2024

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Maryland, the distinguished ranking member, for yielding, and the Republican manager from Kansas.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the bill, the Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act. This necessary bill which I am co-leading with my distinguished colleague, the chairman of the Oversight and Accountability Committee, Mr. Comer, has strong, bipartisan support. It passed through our committee 40-0.

I am thrilled that the chairman and I could partner, write, and introduce the Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act, which requires the United States Postal Service to collect, track, and report on serious crashes and fatalities involving vehicles transporting U.S. postal mail.

The chairman and I have both met with the families of truck crash victims. We have heard their painful stories and are committed to stopping preventable tragedies involving mail transport. These families-turned-advocates welcome this legislation which is

endorsed by the Truck Safety Coalition.

In June of 2022, the Godines family was traveling back to their home in Gillette, Wyoming. Traveling behind the family on I-25 as they passed Greeley, Colorado, was a contract freight truck carrying U.S. mail on a U.S. Postal Service contract.

The truck's brakes were out of alignment, it was uninsured, and its driver had no commercial driver's license. When that truck carrying U.S. delivery material slammed into the back of the Godines' family vehicle, in an instant, Mr. Speaker, three generations of Godines were killed. They lost their lives, including a 3-month old baby, Tessleigh. Safety concerns about the freight contract trucking practices at the Postal Service have been increasing ever since.

Between 2020 and 2023, as has been noted, at least 79 people have been killed in crashes involving trucks contracted by the Postal Service. The true number is higher because just last year we learned that the Postal Service did not report serious crashes involving its trucking contractors.

That revelation raised serious questions about safety oversight by the USPS involving their contracted vehicles, including the troubling allegation that the Postal Service is managing truck freight operations which do not adhere to legal and commonsense safety standards.

The Postal Service has, for example, set delivery schedules requiring drivers to exceed hours of service requirements and has selected carriers with extensive records of safety violations. It looks like there is no vetting of these contractors at all.

Between December of 2020 and December of 2022, the Department of Transportation identified a frightening 466 Postal Service trucking contractors that had high rates of violations related to driving hours. In 2021 and 2022, 39 percent of trucking companies carrying U.S. mail by contract violated rules meant to prevent driver exhaustion and did so repeatedly. Between 2017 and 2022, one single trucking group contracted by USPS had broken those rules 200 times-plus.

When I asked the Postal Service for the number of deaths involved in the contracted transport of mail, the Postal Service said that they didn't have that information because they did not collect, monitor, or report such information.

Imagine that comfort to grieving families.

That was until, of course, May of 2023 when I asked the Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service to look into this issue and, all of a sudden, the Postal Service responded by establishing an ad hoc centralized reporting mechanism for serious and deadly crashes involving postal freight contractors.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the ``Contract Trucking Safety and Compliance Report.''

Findings Summary

We found that the Postal Service's highway trucking

contract safety controls, contract compliance, and screening

oversight were not always effective. First, the Postal

Service did not track contractor accidents and fatalities.

Second, the Postal Service did not always develop appropriate

safety requirements, provide adequate oversight, or enforce

the terms and conditions of the contracts or freight auction

Ordering Agreements.

Lastly, the Postal Service's screening processes did not

always include a contract trucker's driving history. These

collective deficiencies hindered visibility into safety

performance and could compromise the safety and security of

the mail and motorists.

Finding #1: The Postal Service Does Not track trucking accidents and

fatalities by contractors

The Postal Service did not tract trucking contractor

accidents and fatalities and therefore, we could not

determine the total number of occurrences. We analyzed

incident data between October 2018 and December 2022 tracked

on the DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

(FMCSA) website to help assess Postal Service contract

trucker safety performance. This list does not contain all

contractors utilized by the Postal Service as FMCSA does not

track company safety data separately. However, we were able

to identify at least 373 accidents resulting in 89 fatalities

that were directly related to 43 on-duty contractors

servicing Postal Service truck contracts. These 43

contractors were associated with Postal Service contracts

totaling about $1.34 bi11ion between October 2018 and

December 2022. We determined that the Postal Service had not

terminated any contracts with trucking companies involved in

accidents or fatalities prior to March 2023.

The Postal Service was unable to provide statistics and

information on incidents (e.g., frequency, location, time, or

involved parties) as it did not monitor FMCSA or have a

system for recording or tracking related contractor data.

However, when accidents or fatalities occur on trucking

routes contracted with the Postal Service, contractors are

required to report incident data to Postal Service

contracting personnel. As stated earlier, Postal Service

policy also requires AOs to report accident information to

the Postal Inspection Service. Despite these reporting

requirements, there is no centralized collection of

information concerning these incidents. Postal Service

officials acknowledged the lack of such a system, noting that

tracking this data was not previously required by Postal

Service policy or procedures.

The Postal Service has recently started to track this

information. In March 2023, the Vice President,

Transportation Strategy, stated that all traffic accidents

involving contract trucking drivers be reported directly to

him and the appropriate CO. This directive; however, was not

recorded in written policy. In June 2023, the Postal Service

stated they have an existing platform that could be used for

storing contract trucking safety data. However, as of

November 2023, the Postal Service has not created

corresponding policies governing the use of this system

(including related roles, responsibilities, and procedures)

to record contract trucking safety data.

The Postal Service is however, taking other actions to

monitor, assess, and potentially act on contractor safety

data. First, it hired outside experts to review changes in

the suppliers' safety ratings, create a list of suppliers to

avoid, and determine suppliers' insurance coverage risk.

Second, it is working to establish new contract trucking

processes and procedures to improve the quality of

contractors, including the removal of contractors with a

conditional safety rating. Collectively, these actions would

better inform the Postal Service when making decisions to

either (a) choose a contractor based on their safety

performance or (b) take appropriate termination or other

corrective actions in instances of poor safety performance.

However even with these actions, the lack of a finalized

method and established policies to track and monitor

contractor accident and fatality data in the existing safety

database limits the Postal Service's visibility into

contractor safety performance. This deficiency could allow

unsafe drivers to transport mail and put other motorists at

risk.

Recommendation #1:

We recommend the Vice President, Transportation Strategy,

finalize the method for tracking contractor accident and

fatality data and establish corresponding written policies

and procedures, including related roles and responsibilities.

Finding #2: Lack of Subcontractor and Team Driver Oversight

The Postal Service lacked requirements and clear policies

or did not always enforce the terms and conditions of the

contracts or freight auction Ordering Agreements to promote

safe highway trucking practices. We found the following

deficiencies:

Lack of Visibility in Subcontractor Use. The Postal Service

did not always know who was authorized to transport the mail

on its behalf. Freight auction brokers were not required to

obtain prior written approval or inform the Postal Service of

the specific contractors being utilized. Instead, the Postal

Service relied on the broker to complete subcontractor

authorization and vet the subcontractor, but those results

are not required to be reported to the Postal Service. The

onus is on the broker to ensure the subcontractor is in

compliance with Postal Service policies.

Specific to HCR contracts, per the procurement handbook,

contractors should specify their intent to subcontract route

operations during contract award and disclose any subsequent

subcontractor additions. Further, if a contractor wants to

use additional subcontractors, Postal Service policy states

this is an exceptional action and should be approved only

when the contractor can offer sufficient reasons for the

change. HCR contract terms and conditions also require the

contractor to fully disclose subcontractor relationships as

part of its proposal.

However, of the 15 COs and AOs interviewed, 14 (93 percent)

did not know when HeR contractors utilized a subcontractor.

Furthermore, HCR contractors must obtain prior written

approval from the CO to employ subcontractors. However, six

of the seven COs we interviewed were not aware of this

requirement and therefore did not have the required

documentation. Instead, the Postal Service relied on the HCR

contractor to determine when to use a subcontractor and to

ensure the subcontractor adhered to the terms and conditions

including safety requirements. Using subcontractors without

the prior written approval of the CO is a major irregularity

for which the contractor may be terminated without notice or

warning. However, while the SPs and Ps require approval from

the CO before subcontracting, it does not state that approval

needs to be written.

As the USPS OIG stated in a report released this past March, while it is a welcome step, the Postal Service still does not have a single written policy requiring the tracking of trucking contractor accidents and fatalities.

The OIG's number one recommendation was that the Postal Service fix this serious safety oversight immediately, and that is what we are doing today.

Our legislation would codify the number one recommendation of the OIG, to begin to improve USPS freight trucking safety and provide accountability.

This bill will maintain an internal database, and I hope it will lead to reforms by the Postal Service and save lives.

I think that is a fair conclusion.

I think, again, that is a fair conclusion, Mr. Raskin.

Mr. Speaker, I say to Mr. Raskin, what is so troubling is these are 100 percent preventable tragedies. Not one of these lives had to be lost but for the callousness and lack of regard at the Postal Service in vetting freight contractors.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation introduced by Mr. Connolly.

Between 2021 and 2023, truck drivers contracted by the Postal Service were involved in at least 68 different traffic accidents, and 79 people were killed in them.

On February 27, 2024, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General found that the Postal Service failed to record all mail transport accidents in a central database, including accidents involving truck driver contractors. As a result, the Postal Service failed to have a complete understanding of traffic accidents and the comprehensive safety performance of its mail transport drivers.

With this new information from the inspector general, it is clear that the level of fatalities across this period could even have been higher.

The Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act, the excellent bill brought forward by Mr. Connolly, would resolve these serious oversight deficiencies by increasing transparency, comprehension, and understanding of the full scale of mail transport accidents and ultimately improve safety for postal transport drivers and for the public. The bill would require all Postal Service mail transport drivers, including 4,600 postal trucking contractors, to adhere to a range of reporting, tracking, and accountability measures.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Subcommittee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly from Virginia for his great leadership in strengthening Postal Service mail transport safety, and I am pleased to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) for the purposes of a colloquy.

Mr. Connolly, is it the case that rules that would clearly apply to USPS trucks carrying postal mail have not been applied to the contractors?

In other words, the postal truck drivers who are working for the Postal Service have to have all the proper licensure and all the proper certification and training. Presumably the brakes are checked on their trucks, but because of the contracting out, they somehow have been able to escape all the rules we have with respect to road safety?

Well, again, I commend the gentleman for bringing this to public attention. That is an extraordinary number of people to lose their lives on the road to private contractors, who seem to have completely escaped the grasp of the rules that have been adopted under the Postal Service. Additionally, we know that the Postal Service traditionally has taken far more serious interest in public safety and public welfare.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, this is excellent bipartisan legislation with Congress acting just as it should to address a serious public policy problem, and let's hope that we pass this quickly, the President signs it quickly, and we don't lose any more Americans or Postal Service workers on the road.

Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7527), to direct the United States Postal Service to issue regulations requiring Postal Service employees and contractors to report to the Postal Service traffic crashes involving vehicles carrying mail that result in injury or death, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7527, which requires U.S. Postal Service employees and contractors to report traffic crashes that result in injury or death to the Postal Service.

Last year, The Wall Street Journal published an article alleging that the Postal Service contracted with low-cost trucking companies that did not follow highway safety regulations. They also reported that postal contractors have been involved in car crashes that have killed 79 people in the last 3 years.

To conduct oversight of this important topic, Congress needs to be informed. The Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act requires the Postal Service to report to Congress any traffic crashes that result in injury or death.

Under the bill, Postal Service employees and contractors will have 3 days to report a traffic accident to the Postal Service. These reports will include, at minimum, the date, time, location, nature of the crash, information identifying the contractor, and number of injuries and fatalities. The Postal Service will maintain a comprehensive internal digital database of this information.

The Postal Service is also required to compile a publicly available report summarizing annual stats related to injuries and deaths from traffic accidents.

I thank Representative Connolly and House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer for bringing this necessary legislation to the consideration of the House.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, the Postal Service is tasked with the challenging job of providing fast, reliable mail service nationwide. While they do so, their safety should be prioritized.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this commonsense bill that increases transparency into the Postal Service's safety record to improve public safety throughout our Nation, and I yield back the balance of my time.