Chairman McGovern Opens Debate on Bill to Reverse the Trump Administration’s Sabotage of the Postal Service
Legislation will ensure the Postal Service can continue providing critical services like delivering prescriptions, Social Security benefits, paychecks, tax returns, and absentee ballots to millions of Americans
**Video of his remarks is available here**
WASHINGTON, DC — Rules Committee Chairman James P. McGovern (D-MA) today opened debate on a bill to reverse the Trump administration’s sabotage of the Postal Service. The Delivering for America Act prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes to the operations or level of service it had in place January 1, 2020 and provides $25 billion in critical funding to support the Postal Service. This is the same level of funding recommended by the USPS Board of Governors, which is composed of 100 percent Trump appointees.
Excerpts from Chairman McGovern’s remarks are below, video of his full remarks is available here:
- “M. Speaker, we are here today because our democracy is being eroded by this administration. It is under siege on all fronts.”
- “I read the report released this week by the Senate Intelligence Committee – a Republican-led committee. It was truly shocking. It found that some in the president’s campaign created, quote, ‘notable counterintelligence vulnerabilities.’ Make no mistake, they welcomed help from Russia and they knowingly used intelligence from Putin’s regime.”
- “While this report was released, the president continued to attack his political enemies. He continued all the lies. This week he even floated the idea that America should hold a do-over of the upcoming election in November if he doesn’t like the outcome. Are you kidding me?”
- “On top of all this, this administration has moved to dismantle the United States Postal Service. We’ve all seen the images of mail boxes uprooted. Others have been chained shut. Sorting machines have disappeared. Mail service has slowed to a crawl for some Americans, threatening the delivery of everything from medications to Social Security checks.”
- “In the face of extraordinary public pressure and action by this Majority, the Postmaster General promised to halt further changes until after Election Day. But I have to tell you, I wouldn’t trust this administration to tell me the time!”
- “Not only was there was nothing in his statement about reversing the damage that’s been done, nothing about reinstalling boxes or sorting machines, and nothing about treating election material as first-class mail - but the Postmaster General made clear since that he has no intention of undoing what he’s done.”
- “He doesn’t plan on lifting a finger! He said as much in the Senate hearing yesterday. He made clear he didn’t even study the impact of these changes on our seniors before they were implemented. He didn’t study the impact on our veterans first. Apparently, he just made them, M. Speaker – struggling Americans be damned.”
- “This administration isn’t going to do a single thing about it. That is why this Congress must act.”
- “My constituents are my evidence! They have flooded my office with calls. They have stopped me on the street. Something is happening here – whether this administration or its allies want to admit it or not.”
- “All this bill does is get the Postal Service back to where it was at the start of this year and provide them with the resources they need. Not just to process an influx of ballots, but to continue delivering the mail, including American’s Social Security checks and medications. It ensures they are able to continue delivering to places in rural America that their competitors just don’t go, and it supports the postal service’s more than 630,000 hard-working employees.”
- “That’s it. This is all pretty bare-bones, M. Speaker. I don’t see why in the world Republicans won’t join us on this. It shouldn’t be a radical concept to suggest that in the United States of America, every vote should count – whether it is for Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or someone else.”
- “It shouldn’t be a tough call to support the United States Postal Service. More than 90 percent of Americans view this agency favorably, because it is their lifeline in so many ways.”
- “This is a five-alarm fire for our democracy, M. Speaker. I think our country is worth fighting for. I hope all my colleagues join together to help us save it.”
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