Deliver for Democracy Act

The Deliver for Democracy Act pushes the Postal Service to deliver periodicals (like magazines and newspapers) on time before it can raise these prices further. Postal regulators must change the rules so USPS only gets extra rate authority if it hits 95% on-time delivery, or improves on-time delivery by at least 2 percentage points compared to its best measured year. This change must be made within one year, and it applies to fiscal years after the law takes effect.

The bill also requires a yearly public report on on-time delivery for newspaper mail accepted at each delivery unit. If piece-by-piece data isn’t available, regulators and USPS must create a system to generate bundle-level data. The annual reports continue until these mail categories are built into the regular performance measurements. If tracking “newspaper mail” directly isn’t practical, regulators can use the closest mail category and must explain why, including costs and data limits. In addition, GAO must study different pricing options to help periodicals and other products that don’t cover their costs, and report back within two years .

• Who is affected: USPS, postal regulators, and mailers of periodicals and newspapers.
• What changes: Extra price authority for periodicals depends on meeting on-time goals; USPS must publish an annual progress report; GAO will study new pricing options .
• When: Rule changes within one year; applies to fiscal years after enactment; GAO report due within two years; annual reports continue until data is fully integrated .