Government affairs
Legislative Updates
The House of Representatives is home for August Recess and are set to return September 4, following Labor Day. The Senate is also on recess, but are slated to return on August 15 as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) looks to keep vulnerable Senators from the campaign trail.
House and Senate Activity
The Senate approved a four-bill fiscal year 2019 (FY19) spending package last week (H.R.6147), allocating $154.2 billion for various departments and agencies, including Financial Services and General Government (FSGG), which has jurisdiction over the Postal Service. The package preserved NALC’s long-standing six-day mail delivery language, after earlier passage in the House, making it all but certain to be signed into law for another year. Thankfully, the Senate did not attempt to push through a similar amendment to what narrowly failed in the House (write up here).
When the Senate returns, they will continue work on FY19 appropriations ahead of the end of the fiscal year on September 30, and possibly on nominations as well, which could include Brett Kavanaugh, the President’s pick to fill retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s seat.
As a reminder, on July 16, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) along with nine other bipartisan representatives introduced House Resolution (H. Res. 993) calling on Congress to take all appropriate measures to ensure that the Postal Service remain an independent agency of the federal government and not be subject to privatization. As of press, 80 members have cosponsored the resolution, but we need 218 cosponsors to achieve a majority. Please call your member and ask them to sign on to H. Res. 993 (more information here).
With Members of Congress back in their districts, stay active and engaged by using the recess as an opportunity to get in contact with your member on our resolutions.
Make calls to their offices: You can contact your members via the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121, be prepared to provide your ZIP code to connect to your representative’s office.
Schedule a visit in the district: Need help locating your member of Congress or the district office nearest you? Click here to find out who your member is and how to reach them in the district.
Ask them to support our resolutions:
- H. Res. 993 (postal privatization)
— 80 co-sponsors (64 Democrat, 16 Republican)
Click here to find out if your rep is a co-sponsor. - H.Res. 15 (six-day mail delivery)
— 255 co-sponsors (183 Democrat, 72 Republican)
Click here to find out if your rep is a co-sponsor. - H.Res. 28 (door delivery)
— 246 co-sponsors (185 Democrat, 61 Republican)
Click here to find out if your rep is a co-sponsor. - H.Res. 31 (service standards)
— 227 co-sponsors (177 Democrat, 50 Republican)
Click here to find out if your rep is a co-sponsor.
