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Congresswoman Escobar Votes to Save the U.S. Postal Service and the Right to Vote from the Trump Administration’s Assaults

El Paso, TX, August 22, 2020
Congresswoman Escobar (TX-16) voted for H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act, which prohibits the U.S. Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or service levels it had in place on January 1, 2020 and provides $25 billion in critical funding to support the USPS.

Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) voted for H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act, which prohibits the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from implementing any changes to operations or service levels it had in place on January 1, 2020 and provides $25 billion in critical funding to support the USPS.

“The USPS is a pillar of our democracy, enshrined in the Constitution, and essential for providing critical services like delivering medicine, Social Security benefits, paychecks, tax returns, and absentee ballots to El Pasoans and millions of Americans, said Congresswoman Escobar. “In the middle of a deadly pandemic, Americans should not have to choose between their health and their vote. That is why I am proud to support the Delivering for America Act to stop President Trump and Postmaster General DeJoy’s attacks against the USPS and ensure eligible El Paosans can cast their votes through the mail in the upcoming election in a timely fashion without sacrificing their health and safety.”

Cosponsored by Congresswoman Escobar, the Delivering for America Act was introduced by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, on August 11. The Delivering for America Act:

  • Prohibits the Postal Service from implementing or approving any changes to the operations or service levels in effect on January 1, 2020, that would impede prompt, reliable, and efficient service.  The prohibition remains in effect during the duration of the coronavirus public health emergency or January 2021, whichever is later.
  • Requires the Postal Service to treat all election mail as first-class mail.
  • Provides an emergency appropriation of $25 billion in critical funding for the Postal Service that was requested by the USPS Board of Governors.

In addition to supporting the Delivering for America Act, Congresswoman Escobar joined House Democrats in sending a letter to Postmaster General DeJoy calling for the reversal of the changes, conducted an oversight visit to the USPS El Paso Processing and Distribution Center, met with USPS employees to discuss how these changes have impacted their jobs, and launched a bilingual online survey to gather information from El Pasoans about their experiences with mail delivery delays and concerns about the future of the USPS. The survey is available at escobar.house.gov/survey until August 28, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. MT.

The full text of the Delivering for America Act is available here, and a fact sheet is available here.

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