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August 21, 2020

Call your Representative and Senators – urge that they vote to Stop Trump, Fund USPS.

It is now abundantly clear that Donald Trump is sabotaging the General Election – he has as much admitted this because he says mail-in ballots are open to fraud. There is no evidence that is the case, but there is lots of evidence now that his recently appointed mega-donor supporter, Louis DeJoy, is doing everything he can to undermine the U.S. Postal Service. DeJoy has ordered that hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of neighborhood mail deposit boxes be removed in key electoral states, he’s reported to have taken out of service 600 high-speed sorting machines that can process as many as 35,000 pieces of mail an hour, he has removed more than two dozen senior USPS executives, and has instructed mail carriers to leave the building at 8 a.m. and not come back during the day to pick up more mail to deliver that same day. DeJoy has cut overtime for postal workers.

So, mail is beginning to pile up -- you might have noticed this.

Why is Donald Trump doing this? He may think that discouraging people from voting by mail will help his election or, more likely, if he loses the election he thinks he can claim massive fraud.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling members back to Washington, D.C. this week to address the crisis. DeJoy will be called to testify. At least a half dozen or more States’ Attorneys General are discussing possible lawsuits. Lawmakers are hearing from very angry constituents. Not only do people get letters and magazines through the U.S. Postal Service, they get Social Security checks, prescription medication, and, of course, mail-in ballots.

Meanwhile, Postmaster DeJoy, who has given millions to Trump’s campaign and to the GOP, is potentially facing an ethics investigation; He holds shares in one or more companies that compete with the Postal Service. It’s also not clear whether the disposal of postal equipment or other actions he may have taken might be criminal violations. There are dicey details in his financial dealings and a failure to fully disclose.

The U.S. Postal Service desperately needs more funding; the House has approved $10 billion in the pandemic stimulus bill, but the Senate has not taken any action on that yet. The USPS will run out of cash at the end of September. Another $3.6 billion is needed to prepare for the election being held during the COVID-19 pandemic.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SAFEGUARDING ELECTIONS, GO TO https://now.org/now-foundation/voter-mobilization/.

ACTION: Please CALL ASAP your Representative and urge her/him to demand that the Postmaster step down and that immediate action be taken to restore the functions that DeJoy has undermined, including replacement of all neighborhood mail boxes and high-speed sorting machines. Importantly, maximum pressure needs to be brought on Republican senators and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to approve these critically need funds for the U.S. Postal Service. SO PLEASE CALL BOTH YOUR SENATORS TO URGE APPROVAL OF USPS FUNDING.

The Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121. House members will be in D.C. this week; the Senators are in their home states. House directory, https://www.house.gov/representatives; the Senate directory is https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.html