Sessions Opens Hearing on Mail Theft and USPS Response

WASHINGTON—Subcommittee on Government Operations Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) delivered opening remarks at today’s hearing titled “An Update on Mail Theft and Crime.” In his opening statement, Subcommittee Chairman Sessions highlighted the prevalence of mail theft and its negative effect on Americans across the country. Subcommittee Chairman Sessions also urged Congress to help the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) efforts to support mail carriers and combat theft.

Below are Subcommittee Chairman Sessions’s opening remarks as delivered:

Today’s hearing regarding the Postal Service’s response to mail theft and crime. 

The Postal Service is charged with delivering mail to every address in our nation 6 days a week. 

Within that system, there are numerous points where bad actors attempt to steal mail. 

It’s common for myself and other Members of Congress to hear about mail theft from our constituents. 

The Postal Inspection Service, the Postal Service’s law enforcement arm, responded by creating a strategy, called Project Safe Delivery, to combat mail theft. 

While progress has been made, Congress has certainly been informed that criminals have increasingly begun to target letter carriers also.

There has been an 845 percent increase in letter carrier robberies from 2019 to 2023. 

As such, this Subcommittee on Government Operations is a part of making sure we stay on top of this issue and advise our colleagues. Congress needs to ensure that the Postal Service is responding to these threats and not just keeping letter carriers safe, but the entire U.S. postal system. 

Mail theft creates distrust in the Postal Service’s entire system, resulting in fewer people using the mail. 

For this reason, addressing mail theft and related crime is key to supporting the Postal Service in its goal to become self-sufficient. 

I look forward to a robust discussion. We, and Mr. Mfume, believe this was timely some months ago. We’ve chosen today well before the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, but certainly in time to make sure we hear from each of you about this. I’m delighted that you are here today. One thing that you will learn today, that you may not know, is that the Government Operations Subcommittee works on a bipartisan basis. 

Mr. Mfume, myself, and the gentleman who sits to my right, Mr. Frost, is a prime example of a person who has come to this Subcommittee with the idea that we’re going to get away from the fight and go to the fix. So, I’m delighted today to welcome the distinguished gentleman from Florida.