Nancy Pelosi Calls On House To Return From Recess Early, Vote On Bill To Protect US Postal Service
Nancy Pelosi said that she would be calling the House back early from its summer recess, holding a session later in the week to vote on a bill that would protect the U.S. Postal Service from changes that could slow mail delivery.
As USA Today reported, the House speaker said on Sunday that the chamber would vote later this week on the Delivering for America Act, which would forbid any changes to Postal Service operations that were in place on January 1, 2020. The California Democrat released a statement warning that the Postal Service was under attack by Donald Trump.
“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,” the statement read. “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.”
The report noted that a vote was expected to take place by Saturday.
Critics have accused the president of carrying out a campaign to hinder the Postal Service, part of his vocal opposition to the practice of voting by mail. The president has frequently claimed that this form of voting is ripe for fraud and that November’s election would not be legitimate if states move forward in expanding this form of voting.
Critics say these claims have been offered without evidence, and that mailing in ballots has been proven to be safe and effective in places where it has long been used. Trump himself has used absentee ballots in recent Florida elections, critics point out.
Pelosi has been especially vocal in calling to protect the Postal Service, saying in an appearance on MSNBC this week that the service is more important than ever given the fears some voters have of going to potentially crowded polling places, where the coronavirus could spread more easily.
While Pelosi is calling members of the House back to address what she sees as threats to the Postal Service, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has called on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to do the same for the Republican-controlled Senate. McConnell had not given any indication that he planned to do so.
