SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"The Postal Service needs America's help, and we must answer this call," Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said in a statement Monday. (Photo: hobvias sudoneighm/flickr/cc)
Postal Service 'Will Not Survive the Summer' Without Immediate Support, Warn House Dems
The lawmakers' warning follows the release of a House measure that would infuse the agency with $25 billion in emergency funding.
Mar 24, 2020
Democratic lawmakers said late Monday that the U.S. Postal Service is poised to be a casualty of the coronavirus pandemic and could collapse by summer's end barring an infusion of billions of dollars in federal aid.
The warning came in a joint statement from House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) that cited "urgent help" needed by the agency as it faces plummeting mail volume and "imminent bankruptcy."
Maloney and Connolly pointed to measures intended to help the Postal Service contained within the House's new coronavirus stimulus package--the Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act--which was unveiled Monday.
The bill (pdf) contains provisions that would cancel the Postal Service's debt, allow it to borrow up to $15 billion, and inject it with $25 billion in emergency funding "for revenue forgone due to the coronavirus pandemic."
"Based on a number of briefings and warnings this week about a critical fall-off in mail across the country, it has become clear that the Postal Service will not survive the summer without immediate help from Congress and the White House," said Maloney and Connolly.
The critical services provided by the agency have been underscored amid the developing outbreak, with postal workers delivering ballots for recent elections and bringing medical supplies to those following public health recommendations to stay home.
"Every community in America relies on the Postal Service to deliver vital goods and services, including life-saving medications," added Maloney and Connolly. "The Postal Service needs America's help, and we must answer this call."
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Democratic lawmakers said late Monday that the U.S. Postal Service is poised to be a casualty of the coronavirus pandemic and could collapse by summer's end barring an infusion of billions of dollars in federal aid.
The warning came in a joint statement from House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) that cited "urgent help" needed by the agency as it faces plummeting mail volume and "imminent bankruptcy."
Maloney and Connolly pointed to measures intended to help the Postal Service contained within the House's new coronavirus stimulus package--the Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act--which was unveiled Monday.
The bill (pdf) contains provisions that would cancel the Postal Service's debt, allow it to borrow up to $15 billion, and inject it with $25 billion in emergency funding "for revenue forgone due to the coronavirus pandemic."
"Based on a number of briefings and warnings this week about a critical fall-off in mail across the country, it has become clear that the Postal Service will not survive the summer without immediate help from Congress and the White House," said Maloney and Connolly.
The critical services provided by the agency have been underscored amid the developing outbreak, with postal workers delivering ballots for recent elections and bringing medical supplies to those following public health recommendations to stay home.
"Every community in America relies on the Postal Service to deliver vital goods and services, including life-saving medications," added Maloney and Connolly. "The Postal Service needs America's help, and we must answer this call."
Democratic lawmakers said late Monday that the U.S. Postal Service is poised to be a casualty of the coronavirus pandemic and could collapse by summer's end barring an infusion of billions of dollars in federal aid.
The warning came in a joint statement from House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) that cited "urgent help" needed by the agency as it faces plummeting mail volume and "imminent bankruptcy."
Maloney and Connolly pointed to measures intended to help the Postal Service contained within the House's new coronavirus stimulus package--the Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act--which was unveiled Monday.
The bill (pdf) contains provisions that would cancel the Postal Service's debt, allow it to borrow up to $15 billion, and inject it with $25 billion in emergency funding "for revenue forgone due to the coronavirus pandemic."
"Based on a number of briefings and warnings this week about a critical fall-off in mail across the country, it has become clear that the Postal Service will not survive the summer without immediate help from Congress and the White House," said Maloney and Connolly.
The critical services provided by the agency have been underscored amid the developing outbreak, with postal workers delivering ballots for recent elections and bringing medical supplies to those following public health recommendations to stay home.
"Every community in America relies on the Postal Service to deliver vital goods and services, including life-saving medications," added Maloney and Connolly. "The Postal Service needs America's help, and we must answer this call."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.