Contract for Usps Fleet Vehicles

Floor Speech

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Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise with great concern regarding the recently announced contract between the United States Post Office and Oshkosh Defense for the construction of 165,000 postal vehicles over the next decade, all new.

There is no doubt our postal fleet is aging. The Grumman LLV, in service since 1994, is gas powered and lacks basic safety equipment like airbags or air conditioning.

Unfortunately, this contract lacks any commitment to make these vehicles new age, either electric, hybrid, or advanced biofuels.

While new vehicles are said to be capable of incorporating an electric drivetrain, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who has been a disaster for the Postal Service, recently indicated only 10 percent of the new fleet will be electric. Ten percent? That makes no sense and flies in the face of the Biden administration's recent order to electrify the Federal fleet.

DeJoy's failed tenure calls into question the awarding of this contract.

As such, the administration and the Postal Service must delay the contract until a review is conducted to determine that there was not inappropriate political influence in the process and that the proposed contract is consistent with Biden's Executive Order on tackling the climate crisis.

This contract is a multi-billion-dollar opportunity to reimagine the Federal fleet and develop this critical domestic supply chain. We can't fumble this opportunity.

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