Not so fast, USPS.

So say 20 attorneys general who have filed an administrative complaint with the Postal Regulatory Commission in an effort to block U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan, which enacts slower deliveries, reduced post office hours and higher prices.

All those changes have the potential to negatively affect small businesses, including firms in the promotional products industry.

In effect, the complaint from attorneys general in 19 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. asks the commission to thoroughly review the plan with a mind to deciding if it should be allowed to proceed as proposed.

If the commission review were to occur, the public would have a chance to provide comments during a public hearing.

“With reliance on timely mail service still at historical levels, including by low income, rural and elderly populations, as well as every level of government, the Postal Service’s decisions have critical consequences felt across the country,” the complaint reads. “Now, more than ever, it is necessary for the commission to carefully examine the full breadth of the Postal Service’s sweeping changes, and to afford the public the opportunity to comment on them, as Congress intended.”

The attorneys general assert that the commission only reviewed two of the four components of DeJoy’s plan. That constitutes a violation, and all four components should be reviewed, the complaint states.

On Oct. 1, the Postal Service began implementing its 10-year plan, which included enacting new service standards for its first-class mail and packages by extending delivery times for roughly one-third of its volume.

Prior to the change, first-class mail in the continental United States was supposed to be delivered in two days if traveling up to 280 miles and three days if traveling more. However, the new standards allot two days for items traveling as far as 139 miles, three days for 930 miles, four days for 1,907 miles and five days for anything beyond, with an on-time rate of 95%, according to the USPS. An estimated 70% of first-class mail will still arrive in under three days.

At least one-third of letters and parcels addressed to 27 states will arrive more slowly under the new standards, The Washington Post reported. For example, 70% of first-class mail sent to Nevada will take longer to arrive, as will 60% to Florida, 58% to Washington, 57% to Montana and 55% to Arizona and Oregon, respectively. The changes will also impact customers sending packages from coast to coast, as well as to and from Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories that rely upon air transportation.

Paul Steidler, a senior fellow at the Lexington Institute who focuses on the U.S. Postal Service and supply chain issues, told Spectrum News: “People who are most impacted from this are the elderly – who are reticent to make electronic payments; those who are in rural communities – (who) are dependent on mail and might not have sufficient internet service; those who are wary of the internet because of ID theft, and also the poor, who simply, in many cases, cannot afford quality computers or internet service,” Steidler said. “So this is a bad proposal for American consumers.”

The changes stem from DeJoy’s Delivering for America plan aim to trim the agency’s $160 billion debt. The Postal Service reported a loss of $3 billion for the quarter ending June 30, compared with $2.2 billion in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the Postal Service, on Oct. 3, began adding surcharges on most packages shipped domestically through Dec. 26. The surcharges will apply to commercial and retail customers, including packages sent by individuals. International shipments won’t be affected.

Impacted services include Priority Mail Express (PME), Priority Mail (PM), First-Class Package Service (FCPS), Parcel Select, USPS Retail Ground and Parcel Return Service. The surcharges will range from $0.75 per package for PM and PME flat-rate boxes and envelopes up to $5 per piece for certain packages that weigh between 21 and 70 pounds. All the hikes will impact shipping costs in the promotional products industry during the busy fourth quarter.