ESHOO: ATTACKS ON POSTAL SERVICE ARE AN ASSAULT ON OUR DEMOCRACY AND AN ELECTION THEFT IN PROGRESS

August 18, 2020
Press Release

PALO ALTO, CA—Representative Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) held a press conference today at the Hamilton Avenue Post Office to call on the Trump Administration to immediately end its campaign of sabotage against the U.S. Postal Service. Representative Eshoo announced that she will return to Washington, D.C. this week to vote on the Delivering for America Act, emergency legislation to block the Trump Administration’s sabotage of the Postal Service.

In June, President Trump appointed Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General, who has since manufactured delays in delivering the mail by reducing overtime, deprioritizing election mail, restricting the number of deliveries letter carriers can make, removed sophisticated sorting equipment, and in several states, the actual removal of mail boxes, stacking them in trucks and hauling them away. President Trump has stated publicly that he opposes emergency funding for the Postal Service to prevent it from processing record amounts of mail-in ballots for the November elections.

“The Trump Administration’s attacks on the Postal Service are an assault on our democracy and an election theft in progress,” said Rep. Eshoo. "Americans have given their very lives to defend our democracy and Americans have also given their lives to be able to vote. Now in our day and time, we cannot allow our democracy to be hijacked by those who boast in broad daylight of their disregard of a revered institution which was placed in our Constitution by the framers.

“Throughout American history, the Postal Service has been a critical part of our nation’s infrastructure, with millions of Americans receiving their Social Security or Disability checks, bills, tax returns, and prescription drugs through this service. It employs approximately 100,000 veterans and on any given day, it delivers more than 425 million pieces of mail,” continued Rep. Eshoo. “I will vote for emergency legislation this week to block the sabotage of the Postal Service and ensure it can operate fully during the pandemic and process the delivery of millions of ballots this fall.”

Representative Eshoo was joined by Vu Tran, Executive Vice President of Union 1427 Letter Carriers; James Free, President and CEO of Campbell Veterans Memorial Foundation; and Lisa Ratner, Second Vice President and Advocacy Chair, Palo Alto League of Women Voters, to discuss the impact of the Trump Administration’s campaign against the Postal Service on veterans, voters, and postal employees.

Background

On Saturday, the House of Representatives will vote on the Delivering for America Act, emergency legislation to address the sabotage of the Postal Service. The bill requires the Postal Service to maintain the same standards of service that were in place prior to the pandemic, and it specifically prohibits:

  • Any change in the nature of nationwide postal services;
  • Any revision of service standards;
  • Any closure of post offices or reduction in hours;
  • Any prohibition of overtime pay;
  • Any changes that would prevent the Postal Service from meeting its mail standards; and
  • Any changes that would delay mail or increase the amount of undelivered mail.

The Delivering for America Act also includes $25 billion in funding to ensure the Postal Service can operate fully during the pandemic and process the delivery of millions of ballots this fall.

Immediately following Representative Eshoo’s press conference, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced he would postpone the operational changes at the Postal Service until after the November elections.

 A copy of Rep. Eshoo’s full remarks can be found HERE.

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