House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Sunday sent a letter to the Democratic Caucus, letting them know she will be calling the House back in session. She also wants the Democrats to hold a PR stunt outside of the post offices in their district.
Below is the letter (emphasis mine):
Dear Democratic Colleague,
The Postal Service is a pillar of our democracy, enshrined in the Constitution and essential for providing critical services: delivering prescriptions, Social Security checks, paychecks, tax returns and absentee ballots to millions of Americans, including in our most remote communities.
Alarmingly, across the nation, we see the devastating effects of the President’s campaign to sabotage the election by manipulating the Postal Service to disenfranchise voters. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, one of the top Trump mega-donors, has proven a complicit crony as he continues to push forward sweeping new operational changes that degrade postal service, delay the mail, and – according to the Postal Service itself – threaten to deny the ability of eligible Americans to cast their votes through the mail in the upcoming elections in a timely fashion. These delays also threaten the health and economic security of the American people by delaying delivery of life-saving medicines and payments. In 2019, 1.2 billion prescriptions were delivered through the Postal Services, including almost 100 percent from the VA to veterans.
Lives, livelihoods and the life of our American Democracy are under threat from the President.
That is why I am calling upon the House to return to session later this week to vote on Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Maloney’s “Delivering for America Act,” which prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service it had in place on January 1, 2020. House Democratic Leader Hoyer will soon be announcing the legislative schedule for the coming week.
To save the Postal Service, I am also calling upon Members to participate in a Day of Action on Tuesday by appearing at a Post Office in their districts for a press event. In a time of a pandemic, the Postal Service is Election Central. Americans should not have to choose between their health and their vote.
As we protect the Postal Service and access to the ballot, we continue to lead the fight for The Heroes Act as the coronavirus crisis continues to spiral further out of control.
I am grateful to Members for their enthusiasm about returning to Washington, and I am grateful for their suggestions for what else we may consider acting upon when we return.
Thank you for your enthusiasm, leadership and friendship.
NANCY
It's interesting that Pelosi is saying the changes to the United States Postal Service is something new when eliminating election boxes was something that has taken place for decades, including under the Obama administration. Where was the outrage when this was happening under a Democratic president? Why is this suddenly an issue? It makes sense for the USPS to pull collection boxes that aren't being utilized. It also makes sense to call into question whether or not the USPS can deliver ballots to and from constituents in a timely manner. We should all want this election to be fair.