For the week ending August 28th

SHORING UP POSTAL SERVICE: Voting 257 for and 150 against, the House on Aug. 22 passed a bill (HR 8015) that would prohibit the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from reducing service below levels in effect at the start of the year and require it to treat official election envelopes as first-class mail in this fall’s balloting. In addition, the bill would provide $25 billion requested by the postal service for coping with the coronavirus outbreak in the budget year starting Oct. 1.

Until the pandemic has run its course, the bill would prohibit the USPS from: Delaying deliveries or increasing the volume of undelivered mail; closing or consolidating any post office or reducing the business hours; denying overtime pay to USPS employees; watering down measurements of whether service standards are being achieved; and lowering nationwide or regional service standards.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

YES: Deb Haaland, D-1, Xochitl Torres Small, D-2, Ben Ray Luján, D-3

CRIMINALIZING POSTAL WORKER INTERFERENCE:
Voting 182 for and 223 against, the House on Aug. 22 defeated a Republican motion to HR 8015 (above) stipulating it is a federal crime for any postal worker to tamper with election mail. The measure also sought to allocate funding in the bill to prioritize the delivery of prescription drugs, equipping mail personnel with protective gear and processing election ballots.

A yes vote was to adopt the motion.

YES: Torres Small
NO: Haaland, Luján

HOUSE Deb Haaland (D) Ben Ray Luján (D) Xochitl Torres Small (D)

SENATE Martin Heinrich (D) Tom Udall (D)

Contact your legislators at the U.S. Capitol
Zip codes: House 20515, Senate 20510
Capitol operator: (202) 224-3121