Congressman Carson Votes to Protect the U.S. Postal Service and Works to Get Answers on Harmful Operational Changes

Statement

Washington, DC -- Today, Congressman André Carson voted for the "Delivering for America Act' (H.R. 8015), which was passed by the House of Representatives. The bill stops the Trump Administration from making harmful changes to the United States Postal Service (USPS) that shatter its ability to provide timely and reliable service.

The prohibitions in the bill will last until January 2021, or until the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the bill prohibits:

· 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.

· Any change that would have the effect of delaying mail or increasing the volume of undelivered mail.

This legislation comes amid a nationwide outcry against Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's operational changes and service reductions at the USPS. These changes have slowed delivery of essential supplies, like prescriptions, Social Security checks, paychecks and more. This slowdown also threatens Americans' ability to vote by mail in the upcoming 2020 elections.

"I am honored to vote for the "Delivering for America Act.' This legislation is necessary to protect our Democracy and the well-being of every Hoosier and every American," Congressman Carson said. "As we face an extremely deadly pandemic that has already killed more than 170,000 Americans, it is unconscionable that this administration would seek to undermine such an important lifeline for so many. In the past several days, our Indianapolis office has been flooded with calls from constituents who are not receiving vital mail from the USPS in a timely manner. Our office, which relies on the Postal Service to help constituents, has also experienced large gaps in service. Clearly, this slowdown is hurting countless Hoosiers, and I won't stand for it."

"While the Postmaster General's announcement earlier this week that he is halting upcoming changes is progress, it's not enough to fully safeguard this service," Congressman Carson added. "We also have to reverse the damage that has already been done and make sure the USPS is fully funded. My colleagues and I will continue working toward these goals, because no American's vote, health, or well-being should be threatened by partisan games."

The legislation also provides an additional $25 billion in funding that was requested by the USPS. This provision was also included in the Heroes Act, the House's COVID-19 relief package that passed in the chamber last May. The bill still sits on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's desk.

In addition, Congressman Carson sent a letter today to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy detailing the many recent complaints he has received from constituents about harmful changes in local postal services. In the letter, he demands answers about recent changes: including the number of blue mailboxes that have been removed in Marion County, the number of Marion County postal service jobs it plans to cut during the remainder of the year, the number of mail ballots in Marion County that failed to be delivered to the Marion County Elections Office on time, or by the election date this year, and more.

Source