Advertisement

The House of Representatives is preparing to vote on a bill that would provide $25 billion to the cash-strapped Postal Service ahead of the election

Postal Service_25B Bill_2020Election

  • The House will meet on Saturday to vote on a bill aimed at providing protections for the USPS amid controversial budget cuts.
  • While the terms of the $25 billion bill are not finalized, it will include parts of House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney's "Delivering America Act."
  • Prior to the announcement, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy promised to pause changes to Postal Service operations until after the November election.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Following an announcement on Monday from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the US House of Representatives will convene on Saturday to vote on a bill that would provide $25 billion to the US Postal Service.

Details of the bill, which would provide additional protections for the Postal Service, are still being finalized. 

However, top Democrats told CNN that their plan for the bill will likely include parts of House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney's "Delivering for America Act" aimed at halting recent changes made to USPS operations. During a caucus call, Pelosi said that the bill is set to be released by the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday. 

The recent announcement by Democrats comes amid Pelosi's sharp accusations against both the White House and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy of leveraging Postal Service that they are leveraging operations for personal and political gains. 

"Alarmingly, across the nation, we see the devastating effects of the President's campaign to sabotage the election by manipulating the Postal Service to disenfranchise voters," Pelosi wrote in a letter to House members. 

In their announcement on Monday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee also said that DeJoy will testify next week. 

DeJoy, a donor to President Trump, denied these claims and said that the cuts in funding were to save money due to financial strains in the USPS, but said that he will delay changes to the Postal Service.

"To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded," DeJoy said in a statement on Tuesday.

Despite DeJoy's statement, Democrats plan to move forward with the bill.

The $25 billion ask for funding was originally part of a more comprehensive coronavirus stimulus package, CNN reported. However, provisions for USPS were slashed amid partisan negotiations between congressional Democrats and the White House. 

Democrats have emphasized the importance of the postal service during a pandemic, but it is unclear if any Republicans will get behind the bill, Politico reported. The White House openly rejected a bailout to the US Postal Service in April, and Mark Meadows, White House chief of staff, expressed reluctance to further funding the USPS. 

"I know the post office really well," Meadows said on Monday during a press briefing on Air Force One. "It's not an issue of money. They've got over $10 billion cash on hand; they've got another line of credit."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why American sunscreens may not be protecting you as much as European sunscreens



Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post