Rep. Payne, Jr. Visits Three Post Offices Before Crucial Votes to Save U.S. Postal Service

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. visited three local Post Offices in his district today to get more information on how to help them survive the U.S. Postal Service’s unprecedented attack from the Trump Administration.  This week, the House plans to vote on two bills to restore postal service and delivery to pre-coronavirus levels as well as provide the Postal Service with $25 billion in emergency funds.

“I’ve said many times that the Post Office must be protected at all costs,” said Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr.  “Support for the Postal Service should never be a political issue.  The Trump Administration wants to limit effective mail service to try and create distrust in mail-in voting during the 2020 election.  President Trump knows our carriers and post office workers get the job done when they are given the right tools and funds.  I will continue the fight to stop Trump’s attempts to hamper this very American institution and get all Americans the quality service they expect from their local Post Office.”

Rep. Payne spoke with officials at the Newark, Orange and Union branches of the Postal Service to hear from managers and workers personally about the hardships they are facing during the global pandemic.  He wanted to hear about their experiences before he voted on the Delivering for America Act (H.R. 8015) this week, a bill to improve postal service during this public health crisis.  In the last two weeks, the Congressman has written or co-signed four letters to House leadership, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, and others to provide funds for the Postal Service in the next coronavirus bill and improve service to all Americans during this global pandemic.  These are part of Rep. Payne, Jr.’s continued fight to save the Postal Service from President Trump’s attempts to defund it.

The Delivering for America Act would halt Post Office closures or consolidations, stop the reduction of hours at postal locations, ensure that employees receive overtime pay for overtime hours, and return postal service to the level Americans experienced on January 1, 2020, before the coronavirus public health crisis crippled the nation.

It has gained strong support in the House after the Trump Administration stated that it would like to limit the effectiveness of postal service to hinder mail-in ballot counts for the 2020 election.  Postmaster General Louis DeJoy (who took office on June 15, 2020) issued a series of changes that have affected mail delivery nationwide.  Recently, he slowed delivery when he dismantled 19 mail sorting machines that could have sorted 35,000 pieces of mail per hour at locations across the country, a move that could prompt a criminal investigation.  Previously, DeJoy demanded that any undelivered mail at the end of an eight-hour work shift should stay at distribution offices to limit overtime and delayed delivery even longer during a national health emergency.  A second memo reassigned 23 executives to give DeJoy unprecedented power to control the Post Office.