Special to the News
On Tuesday U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) in introducing the Postal Executive Responsibility, Fiscal Oversight, and Results-based Management (PERFORM) Act.
The legislation would ensure the Postmaster General’s performance pay reflects actual performance by prohibiting bonuses when the United States Postal Service (USPS) fails to meet basic financial, operational, or reporting standards.
“Millions of Americans rely on the U.S. Postal Service to receive bills, send invoices and hear from their friends and family,” said Tuberville. “In the private sector, if an organization is losing money every year, it would go under. The last thing we need to be doing is handing out bonuses to reward poor management. I’m glad to join Sen. Britt to introduce this bill to provide accountability and incentivize better results out of the USPS.”
“In just about any profession, you don’t get rewarded for failing – except at the United States Postal Service. It’s time that changed,” said Sen. Britt. “This is not complicated: if the Postal Service does not meet basic performance metrics, the Postmaster General’s compensation should reflect that. No reasonable company in the world gives its CEO a bonus after failing to meet multiple performance metrics, and the Postmaster General – who serves the American people – should be no different.”
The PERFORM Act would prohibit the Postmaster General from receiving a performance-based bonus if, during the previous fiscal year, the USPS reports a net loss, fails to meet nationwide service performance targets, receives an adverse audit finding, or fails to submit a required report to Congress.
The legislation requires this annual report to Congress detailing executive bonuses, performance metrics, USPS financial performance, and national- and district-level service performance.
The report must be submitted within 30 days after the end of each fiscal year. To ensure compliance, the bill directs the USPS Office of Inspector General to conduct an annual review of the agency.
The PERFORM Act has also been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL-05) and is cosponsored by the entire Alabama congressional delegation.
