00:00I'm delighted today to welcome the distinguished gentleman from Florida, Mr. Frost, for an opening
00:07statement. Gentleman's recognized. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you so much to our
00:12witnesses for being here today. Appreciate this hearing on one of the most pressing challenges
00:17facing the Postal Service, the recent surge of crimes committed against the United States mail
00:22system and postal employees. Postal crimes threaten the safety of our letter carriers
00:26and disrupt the lives of millions of Americans who depend on reliable and secure mail delivery.
00:32The data we'll hear today paints a troubling picture. Between fiscal years 2019 and 2023,
00:38serious crimes against postal employees nearly doubled nationwide. Attacks on letter carriers
00:44increased by more than sevenfold during the same period. In the fiscal year 2024 alone,
00:49the United States Postal Service received more than 268,000 complaints, 100,000 complaints of mail
00:58and volume of receptacle theft, which is roughly the same level of complaints received in the fiscal
01:03year 2020. Meanwhile, postal inspectors opened over 100 or 1,100 cases representing just half of 1% of
01:13reported incidents. I commend the power of the postal inspectors who achieved an 89% clearance rate in the
01:20fiscal year 2024 for mail theft arrests versus convictions. But the human cost of these crimes cannot be
01:26captured by the data alone. Our letter carriers are dedicated public servants who ensure Americans receive
01:32critical information, documents, ballots, medication, and personal letters. And yet, they are the ones being
01:38targeted, assaulted, and robbed at high rates. The theft of universal arrow keys that letter carriers
01:44use to unlock mailboxes in bulk have surged from over 1,300 reports in 2020 to more than 3,400 reports in
01:532024. In October 2024, a letter carrier based in Baltimore was robbed at knife point on their route
02:01so the thief could steal a package. These acts are abhorrent. Mail fraud is another disturbingly yet sadly
02:08prevalent part of postal-related crimes. In 2023, check fraud schemes involving the Postal Service
02:15resulted in an estimate of $688 million in losses. In March 2025, a U.S. district judge sentenced a man in
02:25vault of war for exploiting the Postal Service to engage in elder fraud schemes of more than $700,000.
02:32These crimes destroy lives. Unfortunately, independent oversight bodies have found gaps in the Postal
02:40Service response to this crime. The Postal Service is working to implement their recommendations,
02:45but ongoing independent, nonpartisan oversight is critical to ensure continued transparency and
02:52accountability. That is why two years into the launch of Project Safe Delivery, our ranking
02:57member, Ranking Member Mfume, led a letter to request that the GAO conduct a review of implementation
03:02and results of the initiative. I look forward to reading those findings. The Postal Service has a
03:09constitutional mandate and is the lifeline of millions of Americans, particularly in rural communities
03:15in hard-to-reach areas. When thieves target our mail system, they attack the foundation, American
03:22commerce, and communication. It is crucial that the Postal Service has the resources, authority, and
03:28strategic direction needed to protect letter carriers, secure the mail, and restore public's trust in the
03:34Postal Service. Postal employees deserve a workplace where they can deliver the mail without fear,
03:39and the American people deserve a postal system that they can trust. I hope this hearing serves as an
03:44important step towards achieving that goal, but we need everyone on board to do so. Thank you,
03:49Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
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