Sunday, August 23, 2020

Roosevelt Island Residents Rally Yesterday With Chants And Signs To Save The Post Office & Save Our Democracy - RI Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney Holding Oversight Committee Hearing Tomorrow On Protecting The Timely Delivery Of Mail, Medicine And Mail In Ballots.

A spirited and enthusiastic group of Roosevelt Island residents gathered together in front of our local Post Office Saturday morning, August 22, to join in the nationwide Save The Post Office, Save Our Democracy rallies.


According to the Washington Post:
... more than 800 community demonstrations at post offices that swept the nation Saturday as part of a day of action organized against controversial changes to mailing operations. Over the past few weeks, President Trump has concerned citizens and enraged Democrats by slowing mail service, blocking emergency funds and attempting to cast doubt on the integrity of mail-in ballots — all while acknowledging his intention to restrict how many Americans can vote by mail....
Here are some scenes from yesterday's Roosevelt Island Save The Post Office, Save Our Democracy Rally.




Roosevelt Island Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, the House Of Representatives Oversight & Reform Committee Chair, is holding a hearing tomorrow on Protecting The Timely Delivery Of Mail, Medicine and Mail In Ballots.


The House Oversight Committee sent out this Press Release last Friday:
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act, introduced by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform in a bipartisan vote of 257-150.  After a lengthy debate, 26 House Republicans voted in favor of the bill.  

The bill provides $25 billion the Postal Service requested on a bipartisan basis to help weather the coronavirus crisis and returns operations to the way they were before the Postmaster General recently caused nationwide delays in the mail. 

During her statement on the House floor today, Chairwoman Maloney also released new internal Postal Service documents warning Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about steep declines in service performance and increasing delays nationwide over the last two months as a result of his drastic operational and organizational changes.


Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney
Floor Statement for H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act
August 22, 2020 
I rise today in support of H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act.

I also rise in strong support of our brave postal workers across this nation who are continuing to deliver the mail for the American people in our time of need—in the middle of this global pandemic.

The Postal Service is a critical component of America’s national infrastructure.  It provides a lifeline of medications, supplies, and mail for all Americans—everywhere they live—especially in this time of need.

Earlier this year, the Postal Service asked Congress for help.  They asked us for $25 billion in critical assistance to help navigate through this crisis—just like other industries, businesses, and entities who received federal funds from Congress.

This was not a Democratic request.  It came from the Postal Service.  And it was supported unanimously by the Board of Governors, all of whom were appointed by President Trump. 

In response to this urgent request, the House said yes.  We acted swiftly to help the Postal Service during its time of need.  We voted to include $25 billion in the Heroes Act, which we passed on May 15th.

Unfortunately, the President would not agree, and the request has languished for more than three months.

And now—now we know why.  Because the President told us why.  He admitted on national television that he was blocking the $25 billion in order to hobble mail-in voting.

This is what he said, and I’ll just read it:  “They want $25 billion for the Post Office.  Now they need that money in order to make the Post Office work, so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots.”

Regrettably, it does not end there.

Now, the new Postmaster General is using this lack of funds to justify sweeping and damaging changes to Postal Service operations—and we have all seen the results:  national headlines about delays of days and weeks, veterans desperately waiting for their medications, sorting machines being ripped out and thrown in dumpsters.

Yesterday, some of my Republican colleagues argued at the Rules Committee that there are “no delays.”  That’s right, no delays happening anywhere.  They claimed repeatedly that there is no data that proves these delays are real.

But we have eyes.  We have first-hand accounts from our districts.  And we have the Postmaster General himself, who admitted yesterday that there are in fact delays, that he feels “bad” about them, and that he is working “feverishly” to address them.

In addition, this afternoon, we have something else—something new.  We have now obtained internal Postal Service documents showing nationwide performance data from July and August.

These new documents show that the delays we have all heard about are actually far worse than previously reported—and they are across the board.

This afternoon, I am making these new documents available to all Members of the House, and I urge you to review them carefully.

The bill we are considering today is simple.  It does two things: 
  • First, it provides the $25 billion the Postal Service requested on a bipartisan basis to help during the coronavirus crisis. 
     
  • Second, it returns delivery standards to the way they were before the Postmaster General recently caused all these delays. 
This is not a partisan issue.  It makes absolutely no sense to implement these dramatic changes in the middle of a pandemic, less than three months before the elections in November.

The American people do not want anyone messing with the Post Office.  They certainly do not want it politicized.  They just want their mail, their medicines, and their mail-in ballots delivered in a timely way.

And that is exactly what our bill does.

Thank you, and I reserve the balance of my time. 
According to President Donald Trump:

UPDATE 8/25:

By ROOSEVELT ISLANDER at 7:17:00 PM

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