Postal Service is Highest Rated Federal Agency - Again

As the heroic role of postal workers in the midst of a pandemic grabs headlines (MSNBC, Boston Globe, NY Times), the Postal Service has taken one more accolade – it is once again the public’s highest rated federal agency in an annual survey released by Pew Research Center.

With 91 percent of those surveyed viewing the Postal Service favorably, the ranking is an increase from recent years’ high marks and far outstrips any other federal agency.

The poll showed that party affiliation was not a factor on satisfaction with the people’s Post Office – 91 percent of Democrats and Republicans alike viewed the Postal Service favorably. 

Yet despite record favorability and the public’s wide recognition of the vital role of the post office in both ordinary times and moments of crisis, the very survival of the Postal Service is at risk. As the fallout from the pandemic deepens, mail volumes are plummeting and the Postal Service may be out of cash by the end of the summer.

And despite bipartisan support in both the House and Senate for immediate cash relief to the Postal Service in congressional negotiations for the CARES act, the White House and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin refused crucial measures to ensure the Postal Service’s future viability.

As Congress prepares another federal funding package, we must do all we can to fight for the funding the Postal Service desperately needs to survive. Members of Congress from both parties and in both chambers must hear from their constituents who overwhelmingly support the Postal Service, as the Pew Survey reminds us.

It is only with strong bipartisan support across both houses of Congress that we can effectively fight against the White House’s opposition. The Postal Service is loved by the people of this country, it is time for us all to stand together and demand Washington protect it, not dismantle it.