Government affairs

Today, Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL) reintroduced their resolution calling on the House to take “all appropriate measures to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Federal Government and is not subject to privatization.”

The resolution, H. Res. 47, is identical to those introduced over the last two Congresses, both of which exceeded a bipartisan majority of support.

As letter carriers may recall, the resolution’s introduction was in direct response to outgoing President Trump’s government reorganization and restructure plan, titled “Delivery Government Solutions in the 21st Century,” through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The report, which was deemed dead on arrival on Capitol Hill, took aim at numerous federal agencies, including calls to privatizing the Postal Service. The report was also followed up by the outgoing President’s White House Postal Task Force report, which highlighted internationally privatized postal systems.

Thankfully, misguided policies such as postal privatization will have no place in the Biden administration. In response to his views on privatization of the Postal Service, then-candidate Biden had this to say:

“USPS workers are the eyes and ears of the community and are often on the first line of defense for rural and disenfranchised communities. Postal service provided to everyone and every house, regardless of geography, income, race, religion, or sexual orientation and we must honor and defend the USPS’s Universal Service Obligation as a core belief of our great nation. As a valuable public service that does not use taxpayer dollars for operating expenses, USPS will be defended from all attempts at privatization when I am President.”

In the effort to reach another bipartisan majority against privatization, NALC encourages all letter carriers to contact their members of Congress to become cosponsors on this resolution.