EVEN as the nation's suffering through the coronavirus Covid 19 pandemic made worse due to federal and state budget cuts for health services, NIH, CDC, and FEMA (thanks to all who voted for politicians who favor less government) the federal government is now going to allow the USPS (United States Postal Service) to collapse due to the pandemic economic crisis. No doubt there is a company waiting in the wings to successfully win a contract to replace the USPS on the cheap as a reward from the politicians they have purchased, er...contributed to. According to the U.S. Constitution "Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the United States Constitution, known as the Postal Clause or the Postal Power, empowers Congress "To establish Post Offices and Post Roads".[1]" Further "The Clause has been construed to give Congress the enumerated power to designate mail routes and construct or designate post offices, with the implied authority to carry, deliver, and regulate the mail of the United States as a whole". Please sign this petition from Progress America / Demand Progress calling on congress to bailout the USPS....
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Donald Trump is trying to kill the US Postal Service. We need your help to stop him.
The post office has been a cornerstone of our democracy for over two centuries. It's literally written into the Constitution that government must operate it. But right now it's in danger of total collapse.
Trump and his allies oppose a much-needed bailout to keep the postal service going. If the post office fails, it will hurt millions of Americans who depend on it. And it will undermine the November election by making vote by mail that much more difficult. We need your help -- right now.
The post office delivers mail everywhere in America, including rural areas and low income areas that many private companies would rather not serve. Right now, as Americans stay home to stop the spread of coronavirus, they're depending on the postal service more than ever before.
But the post office is in serious financial trouble. Not because of anything the postal service did. Instead, the problem dates back to President George W. Bush.
In 2006 Bush and the Republican Congress passed a bill requiring the US Postal Service to spend the next ten years prepaying the pension and health costs for people who retire over the next 75 years. That's a practice that hardly any company or public agency has to do. 88% of the Postal Service's losses since then are due to this Bush-era law.1
The House already voted to repeal this provision. And Democrats wanted to include a post office bailout in the March stimulus bill. But Trump and his Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin refused, putting communities and even our election at risk.2 We need Congress to insist that the next stimulus include a bailout of the postal service.
There's huge energy right now across the country to save the postal service. But if we're going to do it, we need to tell Congress. Your petition signatures are immediately delivered to Congressional offices, so one of the best ways to make your voice heard and have a real impact is to click the link below. We're running out of time.
Thanks for taking action in this urgent moment,
Robert and the team at Demand Progress
Sources:
1. The Week, "How George Bush broke the Post Office," April 16, 2018.
2. Washington Post, "White House rejects bailout for U.S. Postal Service battered by coronavirus," April 11, 2020.
1. The Week, "How George Bush broke the Post Office," April 16, 2018.
2. Washington Post, "White House rejects bailout for U.S. Postal Service battered by coronavirus," April 11, 2020.
As most Americans shelter in place, postal workers are delivering people’s prescriptions, keeping small-enterprises in business and connecting families. The USPS has always been our emergency distribution system when our country is in crisis.
But, at this unprecedented time, that work is under threat. The Coronavirus shutdown is plummeting postal revenues while increasing costs. The Postal Service could run out of money as early as June.
The loss of the USPS would shatter our response to the Coronavirus pandemic, hit already weakened businesses, and ravage communities. Our public Postal Service needs all American leaders - Democrats and Republicans alike - to provide urgent and ongoing financial support from the Federal Government during this public health and economic crisis.
Consider cutting and pasting the below message in an e mail to your Senators and Representative, I did 😀
Message To: Congress:
Our Postal Service has stepped up to keep our country working during the COVID-19 crisis. It urgently needs Federal government support, but so far has received little.The USPS is the nation’s only universal delivery and communications network, connecting 160 million homes and businesses in every corner of the country. The Coronavirus crisis has put a huge strain on the Postal Service with dramatic falls in revenue and increased costs.The Postal Service needs both urgent and ongoing support from the Federal Government or Americans everywhere will suffer from the loss of postal services. That must include:Invest $25 billion now to the Postal Service to help it weather the pandemic and the deep recession it is causing.Keep our Postal Service running during the crisis with quarterly payments to cover the Postal Service’s increased costs and decreased income.Treat the Postal Service like other employers by funding the cost of Covid-19 related sick leave and family medical leave introduced by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.Any legislation to provide and fund Covid-19 related hazard pay must include postal workers, who face heightened exposure risks to the virus on a daily basis.Stop the Treasury department from forcing operational and policy changes on the Postal Service as a condition for borrowing, and remove the annual limit on borrowing authorities.
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