New Congressional legislation to bolster USPS and affordable housing

Salisbury, Md. – Recent legislation introduced in Congress aims to support affordable housing while bolstering financial support for the United States Postal Service which faces looming financial challenges.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D – Maryland) and John Curtis (R-Utah) have sponsored legislation known as the Delivering Americans Affordable Homes Act (S.5298), which is meant to address funding shortfalls at the United States Postal Service and a shortage of affordable housing. According to legislators, the bill would allow local communities to lease USPS properties for new affordable housing while, at the same time, protecting and revitalizing Postal Service assets and boosting their revenue.

Van Hollen called the legislation a “win-win.”

“Far too many working Americans are faced with housing costs they simply cannot afford. At the same time, the Postal Service faces financial struggles that, if left unaddressed, will result in USPS running out of money to operate,” he said in a statement released by his office. “With this legislation, we’re not only bringing new, affordable homes to communities across the country, we’re also working to shore up the Postal Service so that it can continue serving Americans for generations to come.”

Curtis, a republican, said the bill is “common sense legislation.”

“By giving USPS the authority to lease underutilized property for housing development, we can put unused land to work, expand the housing supply, and strengthen an institution that millions of Americans rely on every day,” he said in a statement.

According to an analysis published by the think tank Brookings Institution in May, the billions of dollars in revenue shortfalls year after year at USPS make it necessary to look at other sources of revenue to continue operating. According to the analysis, despite recent addresses to certain accounting distortions, the agency continues to face “approximately $2 billion to $3 billion in annual controllable operating losses.”

In a report released by USPS on Friday, despite recent climbs in third quarter results, the overall financial crisis still looms.

“… the bottom line is that we need to fix the business model that has produced the 17-year-long imbalance in costs and revenue – and that is going to require Congressional involvement,” Postmaster General David Steiner said during Friday’s USPS Board of Governors Meeting.

Van Hollen and Curtis say housing construction on postal property could build “over 200,000 new homes and bring hundreds of millions of dollars to the Postal Service each year.”

In Ocean City, the Ocean City Development Corporation has leased a Post Office to also act as seasonal workforce housing and say anything is welcome to address the housing crisis.

“This is our first summer operating. Both components of that building. And it’s going really well so far,” OCDC Zach Bankert said in an interview with WMDT. He said utilizing the second floor of commercial spaces is a great way to have more housing. He said when OCDC was going through negotiations with the post office, it was their intention to have residential component in the building before it was identified to lease to the USPS.

“It sounds like the post office is going to become a landlord for residential affordable housing, which, you know, if they want to get into that then bless them,” he said.

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day said Van Hollen and Curtis are proposing a innovative solution to the nationwide housing crisis.

“This effort would drive new housing to supply-constrained areas like Maryland while also generating revenue and supporting the Postal Service’s continued success,” Day said in a statement. “This approach echoes what the Moore-Miller Administration is doing at the state level, giving state government-owned property a new life as home to affordable housing, vibrant communities, and walkable places with easy access to transit.”

The bill is set be introduced in the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.