Critical Vote Comes As New USPS Internal Documents Detail True Extent of Postmaster General’s Damaging Delays
(Tucson, AZ) – On Saturday, Rep. Kirkpatrick voted to pass H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act. The Delivering for America Act requires the Postal Service to return to operations and levels of service that were in place on January 1, 2020. It also requires all election mail to be treated as First-Class mail and provides $25 billion in critical funding.
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 — delays that are far worse than originally believed. Despite the urgent need for action, many Congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration have repeatedly claimed that there is “no data to prove delays,” suggesting they are no more than “conspiracy theories.”
“The Postal Service is essential to the fabric of our communities, especially rural ones. The USPS provides Arizona families and all Americans with critical services, including the delivery of life-saving prescriptions, Social Security benefits, paychecks, tax returns and ballots,” said Rep. Kirkpatrick. “Yet, just months before a Presidential election and in the middle of a pandemic, the Trump Administration and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy have waged an outrageous campaign to degrade postal operations.”
“While the Postmaster General announced a so-called ‘pause’ on the planned changes, he admitted that he has no intention of replacing the sorting machines, blue mailboxes and other key mail infrastructure that were removed over the last few weeks. Therefore, in the name of our democracy and Arizona veterans, seniors, families and small businesses, I proudly voted to pass the Delivering for America Act.”
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 Postal Service 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.
Even before voting on this crucial legislation, House Democrats have taken swift action to hold the Postmaster General and the Trump Administration accountable. In addition to letter correspondence demanding transparency, this coming Monday, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform will hold a hearing with Postmaster General DeJoy to inquire why he is pushing dangerous new policies that threaten both the health and enfranchisement of Americans.
“I will continue fighting to address the damage done to the Postal Service and ensure that every American can freely exercise their sacred right to vote in a safe and healthy way,” added Rep. Kirkpatrick.