Texas Border Business
MCALLEN, Texas – Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez joined more than 120 lawmakers to push Congressional leadership to include funding for the United States Postal Service (USPS) in the fourth phase of emergency coronavirus relief funding.
“Even in the midst of a global pandemic, USPS continues to deliver packages and life-saving medications to Americans across the country with quality service at a reasonable cost,” said Congressman Gonzalez. “As one of the oldest and most critical American institutions, we cannot allow the USPS to go bankrupt during this crisis. I will continue to fight for hardworking Americans who work for USPS in the 15th District of Texas.”
In the letter, the lawmakers wrote:
“President Trump’s own bipartisan Postal Service Board of Governors has asked for the Postal Service to be provided $50 billion in emergency grants and appropriations as well as access to $25 billion in borrowing authority. We encourage Congress and the Administration to quickly act in approving this or a commensurate level of funding to provide real relief for our Postal Service. Without significant support on this level, they will not be able to weather this storm.”
The USPS currently employs more than 650,000 Americans across more than 31,600 retail locations around the country, while handling 48% of the world’s mail. Sadly, the Postal Service’s financial outlook was already dire before the coronavirus crisis due to a 2006 law that required the Agency to prefund 75 years’ worth of retiree health benefits over 10 years, something no other federal agency is or has been required to do. As the COVID-19 pandemic has grinded the American economy to a halt, the USPS has been hit particularly hard, with projections showing it could go bankrupt by June without federal intervention. In order to prevent communities across the country from losing vital goods and services, Congressman Gonzalez will continue to push for the administration and congressional leadership to include funding for the USPS in the next coronavirus relief package.
The official letter can be found here.
