Pelosi Floor Speech in Support of Delivering for America Act

Contact: Speaker's Press Office,

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Speaker Pelosi. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentlelady for yielding and her kind words of introduction, but I most importantly want to thank her for being the champion, the champion for the – in defense of the Postal Service.

I rise in joining her in support of the Delivering for America Act to protect lives, livelihoods and the life of our American democracy during a critical moment for our nation. I thank you, Madam Chair, again for the intellectual resource you have been in shaping the legislation, making us current in terms of the reports from the Postal Service and what is at stake and why this legislation, Mr. Speaker, is so important.

I salute House Democrats for their enthusiasm, energy and insistence on delivering for America. Since day one of the postal crisis, they have conveyed the concerns of their communities to the Congress, holding events, accelerating a drum beat and shining light on this crisis.

This Postal Service – I'm going to say three things, talk about three things, Mr. Speaker, Madam Chair and Ranking Member. This is about the provenance of the postal system and how important it has been to America, also, what the challenges are in delaying service and what this – and therefore why this legislation is so necessary.

First, let me say that the – in the Constitution of the United States, it says, ‘The Congress shall have the power... to establish post offices and post roads,' Article 1, Section 8. So, the Post Office is there in the Constitution, but even before that, it has been a pillar of American democracy.

It is an all-American institution, which enjoys the overwhelming support of the American people for a reason. Again, enshrined in the Constitution and an inseparable part of our national story, helping transition America from colonies to country.

In the early 1770s, our Founders relied on the precursor of the Postal Service, the Committees of Correspondence to educate people about the abuses of the British and to build support for independence. Even before the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Continental Congress had established the Postal Service as one of the first and most important offices that would be part of the new government.

Two of our U.S. Presidents, Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman, would proudly hold the title of postmaster. One of our Founders, Benjamin Franklin, was the Postmaster General. Actually he established the Postal Service. So, this goes to the heart of our country and the connection that the Postal Service throughout our history, from the very start, has been in tying our country together.

In the early 19th Century, when visiting America to write his great book, Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville praised the Postal Service as being the great link between minds and writing that, not ‘in the most enlightened rural districts of France is there an intellectual movement so rapid or on such a scale as this, as the Postal Service.'

So, it has been excellent from the start, part of the unity, the unity of America. As we all know, the postal motto states, ‘Neither snow, nor rain, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from their swift completion of their appointed rounds,' swift completion of their appointed rounds.

As Members of Congress, we have a responsibility to believe the ensure that those courageous couriers are not strayed of their constitutional duty to serve the American people. We salute the patriotic – I join you, Madam Chair, in saluting the patriotic men and women who risked their health and safety to serve the American people every day, our postal workers, our letter carriers and all who may bring us together.

There is a second postal motto, inscribed above the original Washington, D.C. Post Office. It says, and this is really so clearly what the Postal Service has been about, ‘Messenger of sympathy and love, servant of parted friends, consoler of the lonely, bond of the scattered family, enlarger of the common life, carrier of news and knowledge, instrument of trade and industry, promoter of mutual acquaintance, of peace and of good will among men and nations.'

Our Postal Service are the beautiful thread that connects our country, delivering sympathy and love, news and knowledge, peace and good will. And as a grandmother, I will say, we have seen our children and grandchildren write their letters to Santa. We've seen messages come from the Tooth Fairy. We've seen photos and drawings of families taking joy in each other that no amount of social media can convey.

So, again, we must honor their service with our full support and protection and gratitude for what they mean in our lives. Today, the Postal Service, and this is why this is so important that we have this legislation – the Postal Service provides critical services for Americans in every corner of the country, from our workers, delivering paychecks and tax returns; for our seniors, ensuring social security benefits; for small businesses, providing shipping and essential services; for millions of Americans, particularly rural Americans, delivering 1.2 billion prescriptions including most of the medications delivered by the VA.

In 2019, 1.2 billion prescription were delivered by the Postal Service, and that was before the coronavirus hit. And for voters, delivering absentee ballots and election mail, which is essential, especially during the coronavirus epidemic. No one should be forced to choose between his or her health and the right to vote.

Across the nation, though, the Postmaster General is pushing sweeping new operational changes that degrade service, delay the mail and threaten to disenfranchise voters, particularly in communities of color. Now, the Postmaster says he will postpone any further changes until after the election. That's what he says.

But this is about more than the election. This legislation is written in the timely fashion to be about the coronavirus and these changes should be there beyond – until the end of January or the end of the raging epidemic, whichever is later. It's in that regard that I rise as Speaker to speak on the legislation.

But as a Representative of my district, where I'm not called Madam Speaker, I'm called Nancy. This is what they have told me. ‘Nancy,' Michael has said, he is a veteran with epilepsy, he reports, ‘the prescriptions sent by the VA through the mail are taking twice as long to arrive.' Walker says – he is a senior with debilitating health conditions, is now struggling to send and receive his mail after his closest mailbox was suddenly removed. Claire, an 83-year-old with serious chronic illness, who does not have a car and is afraid to use public transport during the pandemic, is in a panic because, ‘I'm utterly dependent on USPS for my medication and other vital deliveries and, of course, my ballot.'

Another San Franciscan, Charlotte, warns that the Postal Service is vital to our country, not only when it comes to mail-in voting, but also for fundamental needs of Americans. And Mark, another constituent, puts it, ‘Not only does what Trump is doing put the integrity of the November elections at risk, people are suffering every day and they're not receiving their critical medications.'

That's what I'm hearing from my constituents. And they're told to go to the Post Office. Well, they really can't. In some cases it endangers them to go to the drug store. ‘Instead of getting it through the mail, go to the drug store.'

So, again, this is immediate in their lives. We are their Representatives. That is our job title and our job description. And representing my constituents, I wanted to convey some samples of concern that we have heard.

Earlier this week, in response to the activism of the American people – people have risen up, I've never seen anything quite like it – and House Democrats, the Postmaster General announced changes were wholly insufficient and doesn't reverse damages already wreaked.

He said to me frankly, and I have to give him credit for his honesty, he said, ‘I have no intention of replacing the sorting machines that we're removed from the Postal Service – offices. I have no intention of replacing the blue mailboxes…' that have been ripped from our neighborhoods and he had no plans for ensuring adequate overtime, which is critical, critical in the timely delivery of the mail. He said he had no intention of treating ballots as First-Class mail.

Yesterday, he said something different, but that's what he told me a couple days ago. And I said to him, we will have – ago. And I said to him, we will have the provision in the bill that requires you treat ballots as First-Class mail. He said, ‘Well, if it's in the bill, then I will have to do it.' Hence his change of attitude.

He has not adequately addressed America's concerns about the slowdown and the delivery of medicine to veterans. He just didn't even seem to know about it. Really?

Today, Chairwoman Maloney released new internal Post Office documents that expose the severity of the service declines and delivery delays caused by the Postmaster General's drastic changes. These documents make clear that the Postmaster General has deliberately misled Congress and the American people about the extent of the damage, brushing them off as a dip in service, an unintended consequence. These revelations show that we cannot have confidence that the Postmaster General is prioritizing the Postal Service or the millions who rely on it.

Now, the House is moving forward with a hopefully bipartisan vote, and I think it will be, on the Delivering for the America Act, which will reverse the Trump damage and provide $25 billion to the United States Postal Service.

Sadly, the Administration has already threatened to veto this legislation, which contains the same amount of funding, the $25 billion, that was recommended by the United States Postal Service Board of Governors. They are bipartisan, they are 100 percent appointed by Donald Trump and they unanimously recommended the $25 billion that is contained in this bill.

So, for the sake of every senior who is is delayed in getting his or her Social Security check, every veteran who is delayed in getting his or her medication, every working family who is delayed in getting their paycheck and every voter now facing the prospect of choosing between their vote and their health, we need to pass this bill.

With that, I urge a strong, bipartisan vote for H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act. Let's pass this under the leadership of the distinguished Chairwoman Maloney For The People.

I yield back.