Yesterday the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved three Democratic nominees to the U.S. Postal Service's Board of Governors, meaning that if approved by the full Senate as expected, Dems would have the majority votes. The revival of the USPS is critical, not only for the delivery of everything from bills and payments to medications, but in advance of the 2022 and 2024 elections, when absentee / mail-in ballots are expected to be a popular way to vote.
The sinister Trump-appointed Postmaster General Louis "Delay" DeJoy, a major Trump campaign contributor, did everything in his power last year to sabotage the USPS' ability to handle absentee ballots as well as normal mail, knowing that the more votes cast, the better for Dems. His transparent "streamlining" effort dismantled rapid sorting machines in hundreds of post offices, and the after effect is still being felt with mail being delayed or undelivered. He also cut hours of operation and overtime, and eliminated USPS collection boxes in underserved communities in an apparent effort to suppress voting by mail.
The new Board of Governors' first order of business with a Dem majority must be to fire DeJoy and to stop his continued dismantling of the services provided by the USPS. They also need to seek legislative relief for the onerous requirement that the USPS fully fund its retirement program for 70 years in advance (funding to make the USPS whole doesn't appear to be in the American Jobs Plan, which is a serious oversight that should be corrected).
(photo: DeJoy: buh-bye soon? Jim Watson AFP/Bloomberg)
