Take a moment and imagine how our lives might be different without the United States Postal Service:

• Do you look forward to getting cards and letters from friends and family?

• Subscribe to any magazines?

• Were you planning to vote by mail in the presidential election this November?

• Are you relying on the mail for essential household products, medicines and even food as you do your part to stay home and limit the spread of the coronavirus?

Well, the Post Office is in serious trouble — as in, it could run out of money just a few months from now.

And don’t be fooled:

While the coronavirus is affecting postal revenue, the truth is that corporate stooges in Congress and the White House have been grinding away at the Post Office for decades in a blatant scheme to shrink it or privatize it altogether.

(Including an absurd law passed during the George Bush presidency requiring the Post Office to set aside enough money to fund retirement benefits for its workforce 75 years into the future — something no other federal agency or private corporation is subject to.)

Now, Donald Trump and his Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, are trying to exploit the coronavirus to liquidate the Post Office once and for all.

There was bipartisan support to include ample funding for the Post Office in the coronavirus relief package passed last month. But Mnuchin got that shriveled down to just a loan — for too little money, and which hasn’t even come through yet. Now Trump says he’ll fight any assistance for the Post Office unless it sharply raises its rates.

Millions upon millions of Americans rely on the Post Office — for basic human connection, for essential consumer and financial matters, to participate in our democracy, and to survive a global health emergency unlike anything humanity has faced for at least a century.

Tell Congress:

Make sure the United States Postal Service has all the funding it needs, now and in the future, no strings attached.

Add your name now.

Thanks for taking action.

Stay safe.

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen

P.S. This message is part of our ongoing outreach to help you stay informed and involved as our nation and the world grapple with the coronavirus emergency. Public Citizen — like many nonprofits and other small businesses — is feeling the financial strain as this crisis intensifies. If you can, please consider donating to support the critical work we’re doing together. Thank you.
 
 
Public Citizen | 1600 20th Street NW | Washington DC 20009 | Unsubscribe