House Approves a Legislation that Includes $25 Billion Aid to US Postal Service

The legislation that includes the $25 billion US Postal Service emergency fund had just been passed today by the House of Representatives. The funding will also roll back some of the most controversial cost-cutting measures implemented by Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General.

The bill was passed with 257 to 150 along party lines with the support of the Democratic party members. According to Business Insider, twenty-six Republicans voted in favor of the bill. Republican lawmakers have been satisfied with the assertion of the postmaster general earlier this week that DeJoy would postpone changes to the postal service until after the 2020 election, as per The New York Times.

On Friday, the Trump administration threatened that the White House would veto the legislation if it reached President Trump's desk. However, according to CNN, it is unlikely that the legislation will be considered by the Republican-majority Senate, which is led by Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

The Office of Management and Budget released a statement on Friday saying, "The Administration strongly opposes passage of H.R. 8015. Instead of reforming the United States Postal Service (USPS) to ensure its continued viability in the modern economy, H.R. 8015 would arbitrarily give USPS $25 billion in 'emergency' taxpayer funding, without linking that funding to either the COVID-19 pandemic or the upcoming election."

The "Delivering for America Act," legislation was introduced by the chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Rep.Carolyn Maloney. The act would prohibit changes to the US Postal Service (USPS) system until January 2021, will roll back existing modifications to the cash-strapped agency that included the reduction of overtime for employees, and the removal of mail sorting machines.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy instituted measures to hinder efforts to expand mail-in ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrats abruptly expressed concerns about the changes which already led to delays in mail delivery to some states of the U.S., as per Business Insider. Maloney, a New York Democrat, reiterated that the legislation is not an issue between partisans before the unusual Saturday session. "It makes absolutely no sense to impose these kinds of dangerous cuts in the middle of a pandemic and just months before the elections in November," Maloney said.

On Saturday, the session indicates an early return to work for the members of Congress from their summer recess. DeJoy claimed in a Senate hearing with the president on Friday that USPS would handle the influx of mail-in-ballots in November. "We had some delays in the mail," DeJoy admitted.

According to DeJoy, the changes that he made was one to their schedule and one about the transportations schedule. DeJoy believes that the agency will get at least a billion dollars of savings out of moving forward, and will be the key to improving their service.

While DeJoy admitted delays, the House Oversight Committee released an internal document from USPS that Maloney revealed "alarming nationwide delays," which is not yet disclosed by the postmaster general.

On the other hand, President Donald Trump and his allies claimed that USPS is inefficient, and efforts to expand the vote-by-mail due would lead to widespread voter fraud.

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