Congressman Steven Horsford Fights Against Postal Service Delays and Wants to Hear Directly from Nevadans
Washington, D.C. -- Today, Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) joined House leadership to call for the repeal of recent operational policy changes that have taken place under the direction of the Trump-appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. The recent shifts in operations have led to slow and degraded mail services that will impact critical services such as shipping medicine to seniors, sending paychecks to workers, and will threaten the integrity of the upcoming election with delays in absentee ballots to voters.
Congressman Horsford has provided Nevadans a platform to express their challenging experiences with USPS after the implementation of these damaging policies. Constituents can report problems in delayed mail or removal of post office boxes by visiting our website or calling our local office.
Video of the Congressman's remarks can be watched and downloadedhere.
The transcript of the video can be found below:
Hello I'm Congressman Steven Horsford of Nevada's Fourth Congressional District. The United States Postal Service has always provided essential services to the American people, whether it has been providing much needed delivery of our mail, no matter rain, sleet, snow, or sunshine, making sure that seniors have access to their medication, historically providing for the delivery of important payments including Social Security and IRS refund checks, and helping small businesses get the mail they need. Well now, Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans want to defund the United States Postal Service. I oppose these attempts and continue to do everything I can to provide congressional oversight and funding to the hard working men and women of the United States Postal Service.
Congressman Horsford has supported several efforts to provide funding and resources to the Postal Service and maintain its mail delivery services. The Congressman joined members of the House in multiple letters to demand the immediate removal of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, ensure that vote-by-mail can be effectively conducted, express the adverse effects recent mail delays on veterans, and request the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to publicly declare the significance of the Postal Service to Americans' health.
Other measures the Congressman has supported include urging the Senate to pass $25 billion in funding to assist the postal operations, advising the U.S. Department of Agriculture to apply for additional funds to continue their commitment to rural communities, and request that House leadership provide strong financial assistance to the Postal Service in future relief packages.
Last week, Congressman Horsford joined Congressional leadership in a letter calling for the immediate reversal of the recent Postal Service changes that have exacerbated a dramatic increase in delayed and undelivered mail. The letter expresses concern over the effects of the new Postal Service policies on the 2020 election and accessibility to quality mail services.
Congressman Horsford voted in favor of the Heroes Act in May, which includes $25 billion dollars to help cope with revenue loss due to the coronavirus pandemic and assist post offices in carrying out its service to deliver mail to homes across the country. He also co-sponsored the Protect Our Post Office Act, which would provide $25 billion in emergency aid to equip our post offices with the funds it needs to maintain deliveries and keep employees on the payroll.
Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, called for members of the House to return to session later this week to address urgent issues with the Postal Service. Congressional members are expected to vote on Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Maloney's Delivering for America Act, which Congressman Horsford co-sponsors. The legislation prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service that was in place on January 1, 2020.