Blunt Rochester Votes to Save the U.S. Postal Service and the Right to Vote From the Trump Administration's Assaults

Press Release

Yesterday, with the U.S. Postal Service under assault from the Trump Administration, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) voted to pass H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act. The Delivering for America Act requires the USPS to return to the operations and levels of service that were in place on January 1, 2020 throughout the duration of the coronavirus public health emergency and requires all election mail to be treated as First-Class mail. It also provides $25 billion in critical funding for the Post Office -- the same level of funding recommended by the USPS Board of Governors, which is composed of 100 percent President Trump appointees. The measure passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 257-150, including 26 Republican Members.

The vote comes at the same time as newly uncovered internal Postal Service documents warning Postmaster General DeJoy about steep declines and increasing delays nationwide over the last two months, delays that are far worse than originally believed.

Yet despite the urgent need for action, Congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration have repeatedly claimed that there are "no delays" with the mail and "no data," suggesting the delays are no more than "conspiracy theories."

"The Post Office is essential to our communities. Delaware families rely on the Postal Service for critical services, including the delivery of life-saving prescriptions, Social Security benefits, paychecks, tax returns, and ballots. I have personally heard from over 1,500 Delawareans concerned about the USPS," said Rep. Blunt Rochester. "Fearing that mail-in voting could be damaging for him politically, the President and Postmaster DeJoy have begun a systemic and intentional effort to disenfranchise countless American voters. Because Democrats and the American people continued to sound the alarm, the Postmaster General announced a "pause,' but that is not enough. We must fully restore the Postal Service. Therefore, to protect our democracy and the Delawareans who depend on the Post Office, I proudly joined my colleagues to pass the bipartisan Delivering for America Act to undo the damage and ensure the USPS has the resources necessary to fulfill its vital role at this pivotal moment."

The Delivering for America Act would prohibit:

Any change that would generally affect service on a nationwide or substantially nationwide basis;
Any revision of existing service standards;
Closing, consolidating or reducing the hours of any post office or postal facility;
Any prohibition on paying overtime to Postal Service officers or employees;
Any change that would prevent the USPS from meeting its service standards or cause a decline in measurements of performance relative to those standards; and
Any change that would have the effect of delaying mail or increasing the volume of undelivered mail.

This legislation will also:

Include $25 billion requested by the Postal Service and supported unanimously and on a bipartisan basis by the Trump-appointed Postal Board of Governors;
Require the Postal Service to treat all official election mail as First-Class mail;
Prohibit the removal, decommissioning or other stoppage of mail sorting machines, other than for routine maintenance;
Prohibit the removal of mailboxes; and
Explicitly reverse any changes already implemented to the operations or policies of the Postal Service that delay mail delivery.

In addition to this vital legislation, House Democrats have taken swift action to hold the Postmaster General and the Trump Administration accountable. Democrats have written to the Postmaster General three times to demand answers and key documents and information, and to call for a reversal of policies that have worsened the crisis and exacerbated a dramatic increase in delayed and undelivered mail. Rep. Blunt Rochester also led a letter to the United States Postal Service Inspector General demanding an investigation into the impact of Postmaster General DeJoy's changes to the Postal Service, in addition to Rep. Carolyn Maloney's (D-N.Y.) letter asking for an audit into the operational changes taking place under new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. And on Monday, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform will hold an urgent hearing with Postmaster General DeJoy to answer to the American people as to why he is pushing these dangerous new policies that threaten the health of Americans during a pandemic and silence the voices of millions just months before the election.

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