Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand launched an effort on Wednesday to end a ban preventing the United States Postal Service from shipping alcohol with a new bill.
The senators’ USPS Shipping Equity Act would allow USPS to ship alcoholic beverages directly from licensed producers and retailers to consumers 21-years-old and older in accordance with state and local shipping regulations.
While private shipping companies such as FedEx can already ship alcohol, a Prohibition-era ban prevents the USPS from shipping alcoholic beverages, the senators explained.
The bill would give the USPS two years to develop regulations and implement the law to ensure the agency can safely make the deliveries to adult consumers with identification checks in place.
In an interview on Wednesday with KOIN 6 News, Sen. Merkley said there’s two key factors behind the push to include the USPS in shipping alcohol. First, USPS ships to rural destinations, so the bill could provide shipping access to alcoholic products for people living in these areas. Second, the bill could provide competition for shipping rates.
“All American businesses deserve the same access to the U.S. Postal Service when it comes to delivering their products to their consumers—and we all have a vested interest in making sure the USPS thrives,” Sen. Merkley said. “Finally eliminating a Prohibition-era ban on shipping wine, beer, and spirits through the mail will ensure that wineries, breweries, and distillers in Oregon and throughout America have another option to consider when it comes to selling their world-class products, while also helping to boost the competitiveness of the USPS.”Third set of human remains found in Gifford Pinchot National Forest since August
Citing a 2023 report from the International Wine and Spirits Record, the senators noted that direct-to-consumer shipping continues to soar with e-commerce sales anticipated to reach $40 billion by 2027; however, breweries, distilleries, and wineries face limited shipping options to get their products to consumers under current regulations.
“We have a hugely-growing spirits industry in Oregon. It’s grown from 2009, we had 14 spirits makers – that’s something other than beer and wine – to now 100 and it accounts for a big sector of our economy, some $2 billion,” Sen. Merkley told KOIN 6 News.
Merkley and Gillibrand said the USPS Shipping Equity Act would “level the playing field” for alcohol producers and retailers and would generate an estimated $190 million per year for the Postal Service.3 arrested after warrant yields stolen mail from over 200 victims
The bill has received several endorsements including support from the American Postal Workers Union, the National Association of Letter Carriers AFL-CIO, the Brewers Association for Small and Independent Craft Brewers, and the American Craft Spirits Association.
The United States Postal Service and the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission declined to comment on the proposed legislation.
The bill comes after the OLCC created a new program in 2023 that regulated third-party home alcohol delivery in an effort to make it harder for minors and ‘visibly intoxicated people’ to obtain home deliveries.Oregon leaders welcome WNBA franchise’s ‘much-deserved’ return to Portland
The agency announced that companies such as Grubhub, Instacart, DoorDash and Uber Eats will be required to have a third-party delivery facility permit and will also be required to train their employees on proper liquor delivery.
The program followed Oregon lawmaker’s approval of House Bill 3308, a measure designed to further monitor who can accept booze from home.
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