Our USPS Delivers an Essential Service

Dear Friends,

From the earliest days of our republic, it has been said of our U.S. Postal Service that ‘neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. Our forebears may not have realized they would need to add political corruption to that list.

The recent attempts do downgrade and destabilize the USPS by recent Trump appointee and GOP megadonor Louis DeJoy have created major delays and hardships across our nation. Critical prescriptions are being delayed or lost. Animals, such as baby chicks, are perishing. And this sudden loss of service is not a coincidence—it’s a deliberate strategy by a political appointee with no postal service background, significant investments in USPS competitors, and an effect that throws our postal service into disarray in the middle of a deadly pandemic less than 100 days from a critical national election.

Last week, my office sent out a survey regarding these operational changes and the importance of the USPS to you. Nearly 1,500 of you responded to say you rely on the Postal Service to pay bills, stay in touch with loved ones, vote and access prescriptions and medical supplies.

When we strengthen America’s Postal Service, we strengthen our economy, our health, our democracy and the resilience of our families and communities.

I thank all who responded to this survey, who contacted my office and who raised your voices to demand action in support of our U.S. Postal Service. Your voices and advocacy helped push Postmaster General DeJoy to pause some—but not all—of these harmful operational changes until after the November election.

This step is necessary, but not sufficient to fix the damage already done. This President’s Postmaster General said that he has no intention of replacing the sorting machines, blue mailboxes and other key mail infrastructure that were hauled out of cities and towns across the nation. What’s more, there has been no plan to restore overtime for letter carriers, which is critical for the timely delivery of mail. 

There is no part of our lives or our economy that the U.S. Postal Service does not touch. All of these downgrades will make it harder for every single American to continue to persevere in these uncertain times, create greater challenges for local election officials working to hold safe, secure and honest elections, and disproportionately harm and disenfranchises Americans of color in our communities and across our nation. 

Our Postal Service is essential.

Later today I will be voting along with my colleagues in the House to advance H.R. 8105, the Delivering for America Act, legislation I cosponsor that will do away with the unnecessary and harmful changes implemented by Postmaster General DeJoy and prevent any changes to service levels from January 1, 2020.

This critical bill will also deliver $25 billion in essential rescue funds to help USPS continue delivering its vital services to keep millions of Americans safe and afloat in the midst of this deadly pandemic. This is exactly the same level of funding recently recommended by the USPS Board of Governors, which is currently filled entirely with Trump appointees.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the USPS role providing for the American people is more important than ever.

As important as our Postal Service is to our daily lives, it will be even more important for our nation in the upcoming election, where millions of voters will rely on the Postal Service to receive and send absentee and mail-in ballots. No person should have to choose between their health and exercising their Constitutionally-guaranteed right to vote. I recently sent a bipartisan letter to Postmaster General DeJoy along with more than 100 of my colleagues to call for a plan that ensures the proper delivery of mail-in ballots, a service that is vital and well within our capacity to deliver. Every American needs to know that their vote will be counted.

Your notes of support continue to pour in and fill my voice here in Washington. Together, we will not stop fighting to defend our Postal Service and our democracy. My deepest appreciation to all of you who have joined in this fight to uphold an essential, and urgently needed, public good.

DID YOU KNOW?

Throughout this pandemic, my office and I have worked to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations on any and all COVID-19 related topics. With that in mind here is some information that may be of interest to you:

•  If you called my office about your stimulus check, the IRS may call you to request clarifying information and help them understand your EIP issues.
  
  •  The IRS employee will attempt two calls at different times of the day. Calls will be between the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., in your local time zone.
  • Calls will begin with the IRS employee providing their name and a ten-digit employee number. These calls are legitimate and not a scam.
  • The IRS employee will then inform you that the call is regarding an EIP inquiry made to our office.
  • The employee will ask some questions to confirm your identity, such as SSN, name, DOB and address. Other probing questions may be asked if needed. These questions are necessary to ensure taxpayer privacy.
  • If at any point you suspect the call is not legit, hang up.
•  If you have EIP questions, call the IRS at 800-829-1040. Or, if you received a letter that your EIP has been delivered (IRS notice 1444), call the number on the letter, 800-919-9835.