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WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) today delivered remarks on the House floor in which she criticized the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans for their attacks on the United States Postal Service (USPS), and shared the stories of constituents from the Massachusetts 7^th Congressional District who have been impacted by the operational changes imposed on USPS by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.

The Congresswoman urged her colleagues to support the Delivering For America Act, a bill to provide $25 billion in emergency funds to the Postal Service to improve mail delivery and service ahead of the 2020 election.

A full transcript of her remarks is available below.

Transcript: Floor Speech Supporting Delivering For America Act
August 22, 2020

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise today to say enough. In a blatant attempt to suppress the vote, the Occupant has continued to attack the legitimacy of our elections, denouncing the very method of voting he and his family have repeatedly used: mail in ballots.

Hypocrisy, which should look familiar to my colleagues across the aisle. How dare you refer to this as a sham bill. The only sham here is the patriotism that you allege to espouse while you stand idly by and are complicit in the dismantling of the United States Postal Service, which is impacting the lives of all of our constituents, disrupting services.

“Patriotism.” They hire more veterans than anyone else. Veterans rely on them to receive lifesaving medication. The only sham here is the “patriotism” which you espouse.

Enough with the criminal, corrupt mismanagement of the Postmaster General. The changes he has brought to our Postal Service during this pandemic are brazen acts of sabotage intended to slow down operations and to delay mail delivery. This is a hell of a way to repay 600,000 dedicated letter carriers and postal workers who have put themselves in harm’s way in the midst of this pandemic, who find dignity in their work and are worried about the impact on services and fear for their very livelihoods in retribution for the calls that they have made to all of our offices.

How dare you?

While the Trump administration and its allies continue to gaslight the American people, we actually listen to our constituents and their lived experiences and how this has disrupted their lives—what you’re referring to as “fake news.”

Constituents like Cassandra, a freelancer from Somerville, who waited for two weeks for a check from a client to arrive. “Freelancing is already unstable,” she told me, “and post office delays mean I have even less assurance that the money I’ve worked for will reach me.”

Or Brendan in Charlestown, who requested an absentee ballot more than three weeks ago, so he and his pregnant wife could vote without risking their health, but has yet to receive it because in the Massachusetts 7th Congressional District, nine mail sorting machines have been removed.

There must be accountability. It’s time to pass the Delivering for America Act. Thank you. I yield.

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