In an effort to address the challenges faced by local newspapers, Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden have joined forces with other bipartisan legislators to reintroduce the Deliver for Democracy Act. This act focuses on incentivizing the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to enhance performance, specifically targeting the timely delivery of periodicals, and seeks to prevent unjustified rate increases. Concerns over local news delivery lag behind the advancing discourse, which this legislation aims to improve.
The act comes in response to persistent postal delays that have affected the distribution of community newspapers. Despite USPS's rate hikes for periodicals—purportedly aimed at boosting efficiency and improving service—many local news outlets continue to struggle with delayed deliveries. "Local papers are the backbones of our communities—they shine a light on the issues, large and small, that affect the daily lives of folks in Oregon and across the country. We must do all we can to protect local journalism—especially now," Senator Merkley stated on Senator Ron Wyden's website.
Senator Wyden, echoing Merkley's sentiments on the importance of local journalism, pointed out the role it plays in sustaining American democracy and battling misinformation. "The Deliver for Democracy Act ensures that USPS makes deliveries on time so local journalism doesn't become history. As the son of a journalist and as an elected official who holds town halls each year in each of Oregon’s 36 counties, I won’t stop fighting to help local journalism deliver news coverage right to your doorstep," Wyden shared.
The Deliver for Democracy Act stipulates that USPS must achieve at least a 95 percent on-time delivery rate for periodicals, or an improvement of at least 2 percentage points, before it can levy a 2 percent surcharge on that class of mail. Furthermore, the act calls for the USPS to report its timely delivery data annually to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) and mandates a study by the Government Accountability Office on alternative USPS pricing methods that could benefit periodicals financially. Since the introduction of additional forms of rate authority by the PRC in 2021, periodical postage rates have jumped by over 40 percent, though delivery standards have largely been unmet — intensifying the strain on an already beleaguered local press.
The National Newspaper Association and News/Media Alliance have endorsed the Deliver for Democracy Act. This bipartisan effort led in the House by U.S. Representatives Robert Aderholt and Emanuel Cleaver, aims to usher in a new era of support for local news, ensuring the voices and stories of communities continue to resonate through the printed word.
