House passes bill to boost Postal Service by $25B, reverse changes

WASHINGTON — The House voted largely along party lines Saturday to pass legislation to boost the U.S. Postal Service and ban operational changes sought by President Donald Trump, who has attacked states such as Nevada for expanding mail-in balloting before the election.

Democrats voted to provide an additional $25 billion to the Postal Service and reverse operational changes ordered by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump campaign donor appointed by the president.

DeJoy assured senators last week that the Postal Service could handle mail-in ballots and delayed implementing the operational changes until after the election.

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the chamber back from August recess for a rare Saturday vote, citing the president’s attacks on the Postal Service and admissions that he opposed the extra funding because it would make it easier to vote by mail.

“Don’t pay any attention to what the president is saying, because it is all designed to suppress the vote,” Pelosi said at a Saturday news conference.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called Pelosi’s claim that the president was trying to suppress the vote a baseless conspiracy theory.

“Instead of listening to the experts or following the facts, Democrats are wasting precious time spreading Speaker Pelosi’s mailbox myths,” McCarthy said.

The House passed the measure, 257-150. There were 26 Republicans who voted with Democrats.

Nevada Democratic Reps. Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford voted to pass the bill. Titus and Horsford voted by proxy from Nevada. Lee was present for the Saturday session.

Amodei attacks ‘messaging bill’

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., did not return to Washington and did not vote. Republican leaders do not allow proxy voting.

Amodei said in a telephone interview that the measure was unnecessary, because the Postal Service remains funded. He said Pelosi was using the legislation as a “messaging bill” ahead of the election.

“There is no financial wolf at the door of Postal Service financial operations,” said Amodei, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

But Titus said the USPS Board of Governors have determined the service needs $25 billion in relief funds because of the pandemic, and she accused the president and the postmaster general of trying to suppress Democratic votes.

“President Trump and his Republican mega-donor postmaster general have tried every trick in the book to starve the Postal Service, including throwing mail-sorting machines into dumpster bins,” said Titus, the dean of the Nevada congressional delegation.

Lee said that in addition to voting from home, delays due to operational changes at the Postal Service would affect people in her Southern Nevada congressional district in other ways.

“The deliberate delays of vital postal services have far-reaching consequences for Nevada veterans, seniors, small businesses, to name a few,” she said.

Four mail sorting machines were removed by the Postal Service from a processing center in Clark County, where union leaders said the loss of equipment and overtime is having an effect on letter carriers in Southern Nevada.

The Postal Service regional office in Phoenix released a statement last week that said it remains committed to its role in the election process.

“The Postal Service can fully handle and deliver the anticipated increase in Election Mail volume and is continuing to coordinate with state and local election officials through November,” the statement read.

Titus said Southern Nevada business owners, seniors and veterans are concerned about the changes.

“The bill we passed today would reverse the damage that the Trump administration has done to the Postal Service and provide new relief funds to help ensure timely mail delivery,” Titus said.

And Horsford said “protecting the post office means that Americans across our country can participate in our democracy without risking their health.”

The House action was endorsed Saturday by 170 members of the bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors, including Henderson Mayor Debra March and Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve.

Mayors urged the House and Senate to provide the relief funds to the Postal Service to ensure the integrity of the system before the Nov. 3 election.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has refused to consider the legislation passed by the House. Trump has vowed to veto the House legislation.

The $25 billion for the Postal Service was included in the $3 trillion House coronavirus relief bill passed three months ago. The $1 trillion Senate plan put forward by McConnell does not include any funding for the Postal Service.

Negotiations on a compromise relief bill have stalled between House Democrats and the White House.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers including Lee and Amodei have urged leaders from both parties to get back to the table and craft a new bill to address issues that include unemployment insurance and help for small businesses.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.