House Democrats passed a $25 billion funding bill for the Postal Service on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020.
A handful of Republicans voted for it, but GOP leaders oppose it, and it has no chance of passing the Senate or being signed by Trump.
This funding was included in the House-passed $3.2 trillion Covid-19 relief bill which stalled in negotiations after Democrats came down to $2 trillion but Republicans refused to come up from $1 trillion. Many GOP senators don’t want any relief bill at all, and GOP Senate Leader McConnell needs Democratic votes to pass one.
During those negotiations, White House negotiator Steve Mnuchin wanted to break up the relief bill into separate parts and pass those pieces the parties agree on. Democrats have resisted this, because it’s a tactic for Republicans to get what they want and block the Democrats’ pieces instead of reaching a compromise.
Putting postal funding in its own bill gives Democrats a chance to test Republicans’ bargaining good faith. Of course, they know it will be defeated, so it’s really a way to show the public that Republicans won’t cooperate on legislation,
- Trump stepping up his attacks on voting by mail; and
- Trump’s appointment of a major donor without postal experience (but with conflicts of interest) to run the Postal Service, who has removed mailboxes and equipment, eliminated overtime, and instituted other changes degrading the promptness of mail delivery.
Read story here.
Images: Snail mail (upper left); a better idea (below).
Once upon a time the Post Office had a spot on the Presidents cabinet, but since 1970 it has been an independent entity with a Postal Regulatory Commission overseeing things giving any President a greatly reduced role in all things postal.
Either Trump is pulling off an amazing display of Presidential power, or there is really nothing to the Trump/Post office slow down ect. This is an amazing feat by a man that allegedly has not concept of the constitution and is unqualified to run the country. If he is doing all this at the Post Office for good or bad then the man is fully qualified to run the country.
All he has to do to save the Postal Service is tell McConnell to pass this bill and then sign it. I have a feeling that’s beyond his leadership ability.