SUMMARY 

• What’s happening: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently proposed shifting the responsibility of conducting the decennial census from census enumerators to U.S. Postal Service workers, in a move experts predict will be disastrous. 
• Why it matters: The idea of shifting the responsibility of conducting the Census to Postal Workers has already been found to be expensive, logistically challenging, and a likely violation of The Postal Reorganization Act. 
• Our position: Adding the responsibility of conducting the census to Postal Service workers will be an expensive, and possibly illegal, logistical nightmare likely to overwhelm mail carriers and negatively impact census enumeration operations. 
• This proposal also obscures the fact that the Trump administration is seeking to privatize the United States Postal Service, a move which would hurt USPS customers and workers and erode public trust in a critical public agency. 

THE PROPOSAL 

Newly appointed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick — who donated $9 million to Trump’s campaign and raised millions more — recently proposed shifting the responsibility of conducting the decennial census from census enumerators to Postal Service workers, abandoning the long-held practice of hiring temporary census workers. This comes on the heels of Trump’s proposal to fold the USPS (an independent agency) into the Commerce Department, which houses the Census Bureau. Both proposals are being presented under the guise of promoting efficiency and saving money. 

INCREASING COSTS AND INEFFICIENCY 

The proposal to shift the responsibility of conducting the Census to Postal Workers has been floated numerous times over the years and has been found by several studies to be costly, logistically challenging, and a likely violation of The Postal Reorganization Act. 

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent, non-partisan agency that works for Congress, found that, due to the difference in pay rates it would actually cost more for Postal Service workers to conduct the census. Entry-level postal workers make about double the salary of entry-level census field representatives. Further, it would likely disrupt regular USPS mail service and overwhelm rural mail carriers according to a recent déclaration by Don Maston, president of the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association. This has been supported by a recent study which also found that privatization will lead to higher shipping costs for USPS customers. 

Privatization will have a devastating impact on public trust. The USPS is consistently ranked as one of the most trusted public agencies across party lines. In a recent Pew survey, over 75% of Democrats and over 65% of Republicans viewed the agency as “favorable.” 

LEGALITY 

The USPS, older than the United States itself, was founded in 1775 and became a self-sustaining agency in 1970 after the passage of The Postal Reorganization Act. An independent agency, it cannot be folded into the Commerce Department without the approval of Congress.  

Furthermore, the USPS is bound by its universal service obligation to “provide prompt, reliable and efficient services to patrons in all areas,” an obligation which is likely to be threatened by burdening Postal Service workers with additional responsibilities.  

IMPACT TO CENSUS 

Census data is key in determining funding for critical public services and infrastructure, such as support for veterans, schools, hospitals, and roads. The decennial Census is also used to re-draw legislative districts, ensuring that communities of equal population have an equal say in choosing their representatives.  

In 2020, at its peak, the U.S. Census Bureau had over 230,000 temporary workers on its payroll to assist in enumerating the decennial census. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are about 300,000 Postal Service mail carriers. Adding the responsibilities of over 230,000 workers is likely to overwhelm mail carriers and impact enumeration operations.  

PLOY TO PRIVATIZE 

Postal worker unions have called the proposal part of a “hostile” plan to privatize the USPS. The American Postal Workers Union called privatization an attack on “the democratic right” to a public Postal Service, and The National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association called the proposal a “[menace pour] the very lifeline that millions of Americans […] depend on every day to receive critical deliveries including prescription drugs, checks, online purchases, and election ballots.” 

The USPS is the seulement delivery service that delivers to every address in the United States, and for this reason, the Treasury Department conclu that the USPS’s services “cannot be replicated by private actors.” Beyond serving as a trusted and reliable mail provider, the agency has a long history of contributing to vital disaster response efforts. Part of the National Response Framework, the USPS has been instrumental in assessing damage after natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, and providing relief during public crises, such as efficiently distributing water to families affected by the Flint, Michigan water crisis.