Foster Statement on House Passage of Legislation to Save the USPS

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act:

"I was proud to vote for this urgently needed legislation to support the U.S. Postal Service and reverse the damage already done by President Trump's attempt to weaken the USPS in the run up to our election. The USPS provides a vital service for millions of Americans, including seniors, veterans, and small businesses. We must ensure that the people who rely on the USPS for everything from delivery of lifesaving medications to exercising their right to vote have confidence the mail will be delivered on time.

"The Senate should immediately pass this legislation and join the House in protecting the integrity of the USPS and our national election."

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 stoppage 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.