Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said on August 16 that she is calling the House back into session early so members can vote on legislation that would block the U.S. Postal Service from making cost-cutting operational changes. The speaker is planning to hold a vote on the legislation, the Delivering for America Act (H.R. 8015), later this week. The bill was introduced by Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) and has 38 cosponsors.
The official description of H.R. 8015 belies its true objective. It is worded so as to appear to be a response to mail delivery issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, when in reality, it is a response to President Trump’s refusal to give in to Democrats’ request for $25 billion, including $3.6 billion in election resources, to bolster the Postal Service’s ability to deliver a large number of mail-in ballots during this November’s elections.
Trump has tied approval of that funding to Democrats’ willingness to come to the negotiating table to work out the details of a fourth coronavirus stimulus package.
H.R. 8015 makes no mention of the Postal Service’s ability to handle an increase in mail volume on or after election day, and states that its prohibition on Postal Services changes ends on the last day of the COVID-19 public health emergency or January 1, 2021, whichever is later. This implies that the bill’s purpose is to improve mail delivery impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. However, there is much to indicate that its true objective is to facilitate mail-in voting, something opposed by Trump.
In an August 16 letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, Maloney expressed concern about what she perceived as “startling new revelations about the scope and gravity of operational changes you are implementing at hundreds of postal facilities without consulting adequately with Congress, the Postal Regulatory Commission, or the Board of Governors.”
Since taking over the USPS in mid-June, DeJoy has implemented a series of changes that he said are aimed at cutting costs and improving efficiency.
Pelosi claims that Dejoy’s measures have caused delivery delays, stating: “These delays also threaten the health and economic security of the American people by delaying delivery of life-saving medicines and payments…. Lives, livelihoods and the life of our American Democracy are under threat from the President.”
She added: “That is why I am calling upon the House to return to session later this week to vote on Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Maloney’s ‘Delivering for America Act,’ which prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service it had in place on January 1, 2020.”
Pelosi also supported an event she said is being held “to save the Postal Service,” urging House members to “participate in a Day of Action on [August 18] by appearing at a Post Office in their districts for a press event.”
“In a time of a pandemic, the Postal Service is Election Central,” Pelosi said. “Americans should not have to choose between their health and their vote.”
Photo: joebelanger/iStock/Getty Images Plus
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Warren Mass has served The New American since its launch in 1985 in several capacities, including marketing, editing, and writing. Since retiring from the staff several years ago, he has been a regular contributor to the magazine. Warren writes from Texas and can be reached at [email protected].
