The US House of Representatives Saturday passed legislation aimed at prohibiting Postmaster General Louis DeJoy from implementing new policy changes at the US Postal Service (USPS) and providing USPS with $25 billion to help alleviate the pressures of the record number of mail-in ballots expected for the November election.
Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform Carolyn B. Maloney introduced the legislation in the House on Thursday. In a press release, she stated:
Our Postal Service should not become an instrument of partisan politics, but instead must be protected as a neutral independent entity that focuses on one thing and one thing only—delivering the mail. Millions of people rely on the Postal Service every day to communicate, to access critical medications, and to vote. At this juncture in our nation’s history, when the number of Americans voting by mail for this Presidential election is expected to more than double from the last, Congress must protect the right of all eligible citizens to have their vote counted. A once-in-a-century pandemic is not time to enact changes that threaten service reliability and transparency. The Delivering for America Act would reverse these changes so this fundamental American service can continue unimpeded.
H.R. 8015, titled the Delivery for America Act, prevents USPS from changing operations that would “reduce service performance or impede prompt, reliable, and efficient services.” USPS is prohibited from revising service standard, restricting overtime pay for its employees, removing any mail sorting machines and mail collection boxes, and enacting any policy that would delay the delivery of mail to or from a government agency. In addition, all election mail is to be treated as First Class mail. The bill was passed with 257 in favor to 150 against, including 26 Republicans who broke ranks to support it.
This bill will now go to the Senate, where the Majority Leader, Republican Mitch McConnell, referred to the legislation as a “piecemeal” and claimed that the changes undertaken by DeJoy were merely a “conspiracy theory” despite the bipartisan support in the House.
