WASHINGTON — Alabma’s entire House delegation has introduced legislation to connect the postmaster general’s pay to the Postal Service’s delivery performance in the wake of financial losses.
Congressman Dale Strong is leading the state’s seven House members to push for a bill that would prohibit the postmaster general from receiving a performance-based bonus if certain conditions are not met with the Postal Service’s performance.
The Postal Executive Responsibility, Fiscal Oversight, and Results-based Management (PERFORM) Act would halt bonuses for the head of the agency if, during the preceding fiscal year, the Postal Service either fails to meet nationwide performance targets, reports a net loss, an audit reveals problems or the service fails to submit reports to Congress.
“The American people don’t get bonuses for failure, and neither should the Postmaster General. The PERFORM Act ends the practice of rewarding poor performance and makes clear that leadership must earn incentive pay by delivering results – not excuses,” Strong, R-Huntsville, said in a statement upon the bill’s introduction last week.
The Postal Service has lost money nearly every fiscal year since 2007, according to the Government Accountability Office. In fiscal year 2025, the service reported a net loss of $9 billion. Millions of Americans have also faced delays in receiving important documents in the mail, Strong’s office said in a press release.
Strong added that if the postmaster general were the CEO of a private company, “company leadership would be standing in the unemployment line – not collecting performance bonuses” considering the agency’s financial losses.
Currently, the postmaster general remains eligible for a performance-based bonus, and more than $2 million in bonuses have been given out to the leaders over the past decade.
All of Alabama’s House delegation – U.S. Reps. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, Mike Rogers, R-Saks, Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, Gary Palmer, R-Birmingham, and Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham – are original cosponsors of the bipartisan bill.
“I am proud to join my colleagues in the Alabama delegation in supporting the PERFORM Act, which will improve oversight of the U.S. Postal Service leadership,” Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, said. “Postal workers and post offices are lifelines for our communities, and they deserve the resources necessary to carry out their critical mission.”