08/19/2020

Postal Service Is Hottest Issue on the Hill

Changes at the USPS have everyone in D.C. nervous

Following widespread media coverage of operational changes at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) resulting in delivery delays, the U.S. House of Representatives plans to return from August recess for a vote August 22 on legislation to address USPS operations and funding. The Senate and House committees with jurisdiction over the USPS have also announced plans to hold hearings on service, financial and mail-in voting issues on August 21 and August 24, respectively. Although Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced on August 18 that he would suspend any operational changes until after the election, the hearings and the House vote are expected to proceed.

The legislation the House will vote on is expected to be based on House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney’s (D-NY) Delivering for America Act, which would block any changes to operations that were in place on Jan. 1, 2020 if the changes would “impede prompt, reliable and efficient services.” The legislation is also expected to include $25 billion in funding for USPS. The final text of the bill to be considered has not been released, so it is subject to change, but we expect the measure will remain relatively narrow and not touch on broader postal reform issues.

Although Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has not ruled out returning this month to consider legislation, there is currently no expectation that the Senate will return to vote before Sept. 8. The more likely scenario at this juncture is that additional funding for the USPS could be rolled into a government funding bill or COVID-19 relief package in September. The White House and McConnell have indicated they are willing to provide $10 billion.

Please select this link to read the complete blog post from Venable, LLP.