Mucarsel-Powell Votes To Protect USPS, Passes Delivering For America Act, And Calls For Trump Admin To Reverse Sweeping Changes To USPS

Press Release

Today, U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26) voted to pass the Delivering for America Act following unprecedented changes by the newly-appointed Postmaster General to the operations and organizational structure of the U.S. Postal Service. The Delivering for America Act will prohibit the USPS from implementing any changes to operations or level of service it had in place on January 1, 2020 and provides $25 billion in critical funding to support the USPS. This level of funding is recommended by the USPS Board of Governors, which is composed of 100 percent Trump appointees.

"The Postal Service is enshrined in our Constitution and this bill will help protect it against President Trump's sabotage. I have heard directly from postal service workers, letter carriers, and constituents in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties who have told me about delayed packages, prescriptions, and concerns with mail-in voting because of the Trump administration's sweeping changes," said Mucarsel-Powell. "I am extremely concerned by any tactic that undermines our constitution, economy, or resembles that of an authoritarian and caudillo in Latin America. House Democrats are putting our foot down to support the Post Office during this pandemic and protect our sacred right to vote--I urge my colleagues in the Senate to join us and swiftly pass this bill."

Last week, ahead of this critical vote, Mucarsel-Powell's office conducted a survey to gauge how the implemented changes to the USPS were affecting individuals and communities in her district. The survey results from 108 constituents suggests that an overwhelming proportion of South Floridians have recently encountered issues with USPS service, with 65% of respondents noting that they had experienced current delays in receiving or sending mail. Of the same respondents, 79% reported that a lack of access to a reliable means of voting by mail may prevent them from voting in November.

Mucarsel-Powell has been a strong supporter of the United State Postal Service. She joined her democratic colleagues in a letter calling for a reversal of the policies that have worsened the crisis facing the USPS and exacerbated a dramatic increase in delayed and undelivered mail. And just yesterday she submitted questions to Oversight Committee for Postmaster General Dejoy to answer at a Monday congressional hearing.

Mucarsel-Powell is also a cosponsor of the Protect Our Post Offices Act, which seeks to make emergency appropriation for the USPS due to the coronavirus pandemic. Finally, Mucarsel-Powell supported the passage of the Heroes Act, which included $25 billion funding and requires PPE for all postal employees.

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.

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