U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today introduced a bipartisan bill to provide the United States Postal Service (USPS) with $25 billion in funding to keep their operations afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic and procure Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect Postal workers.
“The postal service supports Montana jobs and provides critical access to supplies like life-saving prescription drugs and medicines for Montana’s rural communities,” Daines said. “This bipartisan bill will ensure the postal service has the resources it needs to continue its operations and support rural Montanans who depend on them.”
To read the full bill, click HERE.
Daines bipartisan bill will:
- Extend $25 billion for financial relief and PPE
- Enable USPS to use the $10 billion in borrowing authority provided in the CARES Act without restriction
- Require the Postmaster General (PMG) to deliver a financial recovery strategy to Congress nine months after enactment
- Specify that the USPS and Federal Financing Bank will revert to negotiating the terms of USPS loans once a year instead of every 90 days
- Require the PMG and the Board of Governors certify to the Senate Homeland Security Committee that such funds are necessary to cover losses resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak
The Postal Service Emergency Assistance Act is supported by: the American Postal Workers Union, Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, National Active and Retired Federal Employees, National Association of Postal Supervisors, National Postal Mail Handlers Union, National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, the Package Coalition, the PRINTING United Alliance, and United Postmasters and Managers of America.
Background:
Senator Daines strongly supports the missions of the USPS and its vital services to rural Montana for shipping products to market and prescription drug delivery.
Earlier this year, Daines introduced the USPS Fairness Act, which would repeal a burdensome mandate requiring the U.S. Postal Service to pre-fund its employees’ retirement benefits. USPS is the only federal agency that has this requirement and this legislation would put the USPS on stronger financial footing.
On May 7th, 2020, Daines sent a letter to Senate leadership urging emergency funding, additional borrowing authority, and debt forgiveness to support the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and help it survive the current national pandemic.
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