Gottheimer Votes to Save the U.S. Postal Service, Ensure Americans Access to Voting, Medication, Benefits

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer voted to pass the bipartisan H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act. The Delivering for America Act requires the Postal Service to return to operations and levels of service that were in place on January 1, 2020, throughout the duration of the Coronavirus public health emergency and requires all election mail to be treated as First-Class mail. It also provides $25 billion in critical funding for the Postal Service – the same level of funding recommended by the USPS Board of Governors, which is composed entirely of President Trump appointees.

“The Postal Service is essential to the fabric of our communities, providing New Jersey families and all Americans with critical services, including the delivery of life-saving prescriptions, Social Security benefits, paychecks, tax returns, and ballots,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “By tampering with the mail, the Postmaster General’s actions are tampering with the health, safety, and economic security of North Jersey residents, seniors, veterans, and our small businesses. I’m proud to join my colleagues to pass the Delivering for America Act to undo the damage and ensure the Postal Service has the resources necessary to fulfill its vital role at this pivotal moment.”

The Delivering for America Act would prohibit: 

·  Any change that would generally affect service on a nationwide or substantially nationwide basis; 

·  Any revision of existing service standards;

·  Closing, consolidating or reducing the hours of any post office or postal facility; 

·  Any prohibition on paying overtime to Postal Service officers or employees; 

·  Any change that would prevent the Postal Service from meeting its service standards or cause a decline in measurements of performance relative to those standards; and

·  Any change that would have the effect of delaying mail or increasing the volume of undelivered mail.

This legislation will also:

·  Include $25 billion requested by the Postal Service and supported unanimously and on a bipartisan basis by the Trump-appointed Postal Board of Governors;

·  Require the Postal Service to treat all official election mail as First-Class mail; 

·  Prohibit the removal, decommissioning or other stoppages of mail sorting machines, other than for routine maintenance; 

·  Prohibit the removal of mailboxes; and

·  Explicitly reverse any changes already implemented to the operations or policies of the Postal Service that delay mail delivery.

This week, Gottheimer visited the Paramus Post Office with National Postal Mail Handlers Union, Local 300 to highlight the Postal Service interference and delay issues impacting the delivery of life-saving medication to seniors and veterans, Social Security benefits, paychecks, tax returns, and absentee ballots to the Fifth-District.

On Monday, the Postmaster-General will be testifying before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

# # #