WASHINGTON—House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member James Comer (R-KY) have sent a letter to U.S. Postmaster Louis Dejoy expressing their concerns regarding a USPS pilot program offering paycheck-cashing services, which launched Sept. 13.
As CUToday.info reported here, after years of discussion and debate, the U.S. Postal Service has launched a pilot program offering consumers financial services. The pilot program allows customers to use payroll or business checks to purchase single-use gift cards of up to $500 at post office locations in four cities.
"Not only does USPS lack the statutory authority to expand its non-postal services without congressional approval, but USPS has neglected to share information about this pilot program with the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, the House Committee on Financial Services, and other stakeholders in Congress," wrote the lawmakers. "USPS’s plans to become involved in financial services is a significant deviation from what USPS communicated to Congress in public and in private."
Comer and McHenry also urged the USPS to provide an immediate briefing and any information into the planning and implementation of the new program.