US House of Representatives pass $25 billion bill to fund US Postal Service

The Democratic-led US House of Representatives on August 22 passed a bill to fund the Postal Service (USPS) with $25 billion in a bid to prioritise election mail as ‘first-class’. Despite the oppositions from Republicans, the Democrats voted to block policy changes that have stirred concerns about mail-in voting in advance of the November 3 election. According to reports, the chamber passed the emergency bill, dubbed the ‘Delivering for America Act’, during a rare Saturday session called by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

Pelosi reportedly said that the bill was necessary to ‘reject’ the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the critical mission of the postal service. The legislation would undo any recent changes to operations that may slow the mail delivery, provide an infusion of cash for the agency to deal with the extra workload during the election and require all ballots to be treated as first-class mail. 

READ: House Holding Rare Saturday Vote On Postal Changes, Funds

As per reports, 26 Republicans broke party ranks and voted for the bill. However, the bill is unlikely to progress further as the Republican-held Senate and the White House Office of Management and Budget reportedly said that it ‘strongly opposes’ the measure and would recommend President Donald Trump veto it. 

Trump has repeatedly alleged that Democrats were promoting universal mail-in voting to manipulate the results. On Friday, he also suggested a systemic problem. Trump reportedly said that the country is not prepared for 51 million mail-in ballots. He added that it will be a ‘tremendous embarrassment for the country’ and it is also a very serious problem for a democracy. 

READ: US Polls 2020: Postal Service Chief Assures 'secure And Timely' Delivery Of Election Mail

DeJoy to testify on August 24 

Democrats, on the other hand, have reportedly accused Trump of trying to undermine the USPS for political gain. Back in May, Democrat-controlled House of Representatives also passed a $3 trillion relief package which included funding for the expansion of mail-in ballots due to the virus situation across the country. However, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell refused to allow a vote on the Bill. It was followed by cost-cutting measures in Postal Service, triggering concerns of a deliberate move aimed at holding up mail-in ballots. 

Top US Democrats called on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump mega-donor, to testify before Congress on August 24 on the changes that slowed down mail delivery across the country. Democrats including Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused DeJoy of acting as an accomplice in the President’s campaign to “cheat in the election” with sweeping operational changes, degrading delivery standards and delaying the mail.

READ: House Passes Bill To Reverse Changes Blamed For Mail Delays

READ: Trump Campaign Fails To Produce Evidence Of Vote-by-mail System Frauds