Bell, Wagner Introduce St. Louis Postal Accountability and Reform Act to Hold USPS Accountable for Delayed Mail

Washington, D.C.- Today, Representatives Wesley Bell (D-Mo.) and Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) introduced the St. Louis Postal Accountability and Reform (STL Up To PAR) Act, to direct the United States Postal Service (USPS) to submit a report to Congress on mail and package delivery service performance in the St. Louis region.

In 2025, two audits by the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General (OIG) documented longstanding operational challenges that have caused persistent mail delays for residents across the St. Louis region. The OIG provided a list of detailed recommendations to improve service, and Postmaster General Steiner has since engaged constructively with Congress on corrective actions.

This legislation builds on that momentum by requiring USPS to document delivery performance benchmarked against national averages, workforce conditions including vacancy and turnover rates, the status of corrective actions on all OIG recommendations, and the management systems in place to prevent recurrence.

"The mail delays in the St. Louis region have gone on for far too long," said Rep. Bell. "I've heard from constituents who wait for weeks on prescription medications, benefit checks, and utility notices - mail that can't be late. The St. Louis 'Up To PAR' Act will give us real accountability for whether USPS is delivering on its commitments."

"I constantly hear complaints from constituents and neighbors about the complete lack of accountability in the United States Postal Service (USPS) and their frequent inability to deliver mail and critical packages like medications on time," said Rep. Wagner. "People rely on this service, and we expect the Postal Service to do their job and deliver the mail on time. I have brought in USPS leadership to hold them accountable for their service failures, but it's clear more needs to be done. The St. Louis Postal Accountability and Reform Act will provide for clear service benchmarks so we can ensure they are fixing these problems on an appropriate timeline and with full transparency. This is a bipartisan issue, and I appreciated working across the aisle in the St. Louis region with Congressman Bell to make sure government works for you."

The St. Louis Up To PAR Act is designed not to penalize USPS, but to give both Congress and constituents a clear picture of where things stand and where work remains.

The bill is also co-sponsored by Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Mike Bost (R-Ill.), and Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.).