From: januarybaybee@gmail.com   
      
       
   And this issue just illustrates why it will be so important for the Democrats   
   to take back the Senate after November 3rd.   
                                                          =================   
      
   (CNN) The House approved legislation Saturday to allocate $25 billion to the   
   US Postal Service and ban operational changes that have slowed mail service   
   around the country.   
      
   The bill passed 257-150, largely along party lines, with Democrats supporting   
   it.   
   More than two dozen Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the measure,   
   defying House GOP leaders and President Donald Trump, who actively urged   
   Republicans to oppose it.   
      
   On the eve of the vote, the White House threatened to veto the bill.  The   
   measure isn't expected to reach Trump's desk, however, as the Republican-held   
   Senate is unlikely to vote on it.   
      
   The Republicans who crossed party lines to vote for the legislation include a   
   handful of members facing competitive reelections or retiring, others who   
   sometimes buck their party and several from deep-red districts.   
      
   House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had predicted bipartisan support for the USPS   
   legislation ahead of the vote Saturday.   
      
   "We will pass the bill and it will be in a bipartisan way today and then we   
   will send it to the Senate," Pelosi said, adding that Republicans "will be   
   hearing from their constituents because this hits home -- not receiving your   
   mail in a timely fashion,    
   hits home."   
      
   Democratic leaders introduced the measure, based on a bill sponsored by House   
   Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New   
   York, after the Trump administration made policy changes at the USPS.   
      
   Those moves included cutting overtime for employees, limiting post office   
   hours, and removing some high-volume mail sorting machines from USPS   
   facilities.   
      
   Democrats argue the policies were intended to impede mail-in voting ahead of   
   the November election. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, an ally and donor of   
   President Donald Trump, has denied the claims, saying the changes were   
   intended to increase    
   efficiency and save money.   
      
   Ahead of the vote, the House Oversight Committee on Saturday released new   
   internal USPS documents that show postal service declines and delays since the   
   beginning of July.   
      
   The August 12 internal USPS slide presentation prepared for the postmaster   
   general, which was obtained and released by the committee, shows that there   
   has been an overall drop in service across the board in first-class and   
   priority mail, marketing and    
   periodicals.   
      
   "To those who still claim there are 'no delays' and that these reports are   
   just 'conspiracy theories,' I hope this new data causes them to re-think their   
   position and support our urgent legislation today," Maloney said in a   
   statement Saturday.   
      
   "We have all seen the headlines from every corner of our country, we have read   
   the stories and seen pictures, we have heard directly from our constituents,   
   and these new documents show that the delays are far worse than we were told,"   
   she added.   
      
   A USPS spokesperson on Saturday referred CNN to a fact sheet that includes   
   information on the postal service's handling of election mail and its   
   operational changes. The spokesperson told CNN DeJoy "looks forward to   
   appearing" before the House Oversight    
   Committee on Monday.   
      
   DeJoy said earlier this week that he would halt the changes until after the   
   November election. Congressional Democrats were unsatisfied with the   
   announcement. Pelosi said in a letter to members on Thursday that DeJoy's   
   decision is "wholly insufficient    
   and does not reverse damage already wreaked."   
      
   "Therefore, in the name of our democracy and the veterans, seniors, families   
   and small businesses who depend on the Post Office, we will pass the   
   Delivering for America Act," Pelosi wrote.   
      
   In a Senate hearing on Friday, DeJoy said the Postal Service is able to handle   
   election mail.   
      
   "As we head into the election season, I want to assure this committee and the   
   American public that the Postal Service is fully capable and committed to   
   delivering the nation's election mail securely and on time," DeJoy told   
   senators during the hearing.    
   He also claimed he never spoke with President Donald Trump or anyone else at   
   the White House about Postal Service changes or their potential impact on the   
   November election.   
      
   The fight over the postal service is unfolding as Democrats and the Trump   
   administration have not yet come together to successfully negotiate a new   
   stimulus bill.   
      
   White House chief of staff Mark Meadows tweeted to Democrats on Saturday,   
   saying, "If you really want to help Americans, how about passing relief for   
   small businesses and unemployment assistance ALONG with postal funding?"   
      
   Congressional Democratic leaders have argued that the next stimulus should be   
   a comprehensive package, and have indicated they do not want to take a   
   piecemeal approach that will leave out what they describe as key priorities.   
      
   Asked to respond to Meadows' criticism at a news conference Saturday, Pelosi   
   said, "He didn't say anything about schools. He didn't say anything about   
   crushing the virus. He didn't say anything about people who are being evicted.   
   He didn't say anything    
   about food insecurity among millions of America's children. He didn't say   
   anything about state and local. That's completely unacceptable."   
      
   The House's early return for votes on Saturday disrupted members' August   
   recess plans. The chamber had previously been scheduled to next return for   
   votes in the middle of September.   
      
   Initially, Democrats sought to include funding for the USPS in a larger   
   coronavirus stimulus package, but negotiations between congressional Democrats   
   and the White House for such a bill have broken down. During talks over the   
   relief bill, the White    
   House did reach a tentative agreement to include $10 billion for the Postal   
   Service, people involved with the talks told CNN.   
      
   Administration officials are opposed to a USPS-specific bill, like the one   
   passed Saturday. Meadows has called instead for a measure that would include   
   pieces of the relief talks where the two sides agree, like another round of   
   direct payments for    
   Americans.   
      
      
   https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/22/politics/postal-service-house-vot   
   -funding/index.html   
      
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