{"id":10554,"date":"2020-08-19T01:26:34","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T05:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.suitupmaine.org\/?p=10554"},"modified":"2021-03-19T14:15:03","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T18:15:03","slug":"save-the-usps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.suitupmaine.org\/save-the-usps\/","title":{"rendered":"SAVE THE USPS"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Trump admitted that he is sabotaging the U.S. Postal Service in order to suppress the vote. Learn how we got here, how Susan Collins laid the groundwork for this crisis, and what you can do to help protect our mail service and our votes.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/h3>\n

HOW DID WE GET HERE?<\/span><\/h3>\n


The establishment of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is one of the first directives listed in the <\/span>Constitution<\/span><\/a>, and the founders explicitly intended for it to be an apolitical agency that enabled fair and affordable commerce and communication between states. Over the years its role has been defined to include protections of privacy and speech, equal service regardless of address, and strict limits on rate increases to ensure full accessibility by all Americans. It\u2019s an essential tool of democracy, not a for-profit business. Trump has been working to dismantle the USPS since 2018, when his administration proposed restructuring that would lead to <\/span>privatization<\/span><\/a>. The justification? A significant debt burden of $160 billion, <\/span>most of\u00a0 which can be blamed on legislation introduced by <\/b>Susan Collins<\/b><\/a>.<\/b> Collins\u2019 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act requires the USPS to pre-pay for retirees\u2019 healthcare benefits <\/span>75 years<\/b> into the future. No other federal agency or private corporation has to do that. The burden of that pre-funding mandate accounts for a full 74% of the USPS debt.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

TRUMP’S ATTACKS<\/span><\/h3>\n


A fully funded federal postal service is now more important than ever. In this pandemic, it is a life-saving medication and PPE delivery system, it facilitates vital distribution of stimulus and unemployment funds, and it allows people to register to vote and to <\/span>vote absentee<\/span><\/a> without risking their health. Despite this, Trump has mounted an all-out attack. In April he threatened to <\/span>veto<\/span><\/a> a coronavirus relief package if it included USPS funding, and later admitted that he\u2019s blocking funding to <\/span>sabotage mail-in voting<\/span><\/a>. In June he installed <\/span>Louis DeJoy<\/span><\/a> – a Trump mega donor with millions in financial assets tied to USPS competitors – as the new postmaster general. DeJoy immediately carried out his own \u201c<\/span>Friday night massacre<\/span><\/a>\u201d by replacing all of the USPS\u2019s top executives, and instituted shocking changes resulting in masses of mail being left <\/span>undelivered<\/span><\/a>, mail <\/span>sorting equipment<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(including two in Maine<\/a>) and <\/span>mailboxes<\/span><\/a> removed without explanation, and reports that some post offices will be <\/span>shut down permanently<\/span><\/a>. Highlighting DeJoy\u2019s voter suppressing intentions, his changes were implemented <\/span>after<\/span> the postal service <\/span>warned 46 states<\/span><\/a> (including Maine) that their voters could be disenfranchised by postal delays.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

WHAT’S BEING DONE ABOUT IT?<\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n