The Postal Service is a unique part of American life. As the only delivery service that reaches every address, it is a lifeline for millions of people, especially for those who live in New Hampshire’s rural communities. At least six days a week, postal workers come to our homes and businesses – bringing to life the Postal Service’s unofficial motto, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

The Postal Service is a vital part of our country’s infrastructure – getting people their medication, business supplies, and other necessities, while also connecting them to friends and family.

Unfortunately though, actions by Congress over a decade ago created financial burdens for the Postal Service, resulting in slower and worse service. This is unacceptable, which is why I have been working on a bipartisan basis to ensure that the Postal Service operates efficiently, while providing timely, top notch service.

This month, we took an important step forward when Congress passed and the President signed into law the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act. This law, which I helped introduce, will strengthen the Postal Service and improve the agency’s long-term financial stability.

This measure makes a number of key reforms that will protect the Postal Service and put it on secure financial footing for generations to come, including by eliminating congressional requirements that have financially hurt the Postal Service. The reforms in our law will generate more than $49 billion in savings for the Postal Service over the next 10 years.

In addition, Granite Staters rely on and expect deliveries to occur at least six days a week. This law makes sure that level of service will not change by permanently requiring the Postal Service to continue its six-day-a-week delivery services.

The law also improves the transparency of the Postal Service by requiring the publication of easily accessible weekly performance data on the Postal Service website. This measure will provide people with information about mail service in their local areas. The law also requires regular reporting of Postal Service finances and operations to Congress.

I am glad that Republicans and Democrats came together to pass this law. And this new law will help build on the efforts I have already made to improve mail service in our state.

Granite Staters have told me about their frustrations concerning the frequency and consistency of New Hampshire’s mail delivery service, particularly during the pandemic. So I requested that the Inspector General of the Postal Service investigate the causes of mail delays experienced in communities across our state.

As a result, the Inspector General conducted an investigation which found that the main cause of postal delays and poor service in New Hampshire was a lack of permanent staff. At my urging, in the months following that report, the Postal Service hired more than 150 new permanent employees in New Hampshire. And now, because of the new postal reform law, the Postal Service will be on better financial footing long-term, so will be able to improve its ability to hire and retain workers.

We have more work to do, and I remain grateful for the New Hampshire postal workers and letter carriers who are working so hard to get Granite Staters their mail. I will continue pushing to improve the Postal Service to ensure that Granite Staters can receive the consistent and quality service that they need – and to ensure that no matter their address or personal circumstances, all Granite Staters can communicate through this common, essential connection.

Maggie Hassan is the junior U.S. Senator from New Hampshire. She also served as the 81st governor of the Granite State.