Republicans vs. the Postal Service
By John Marshall
On August 22, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 257-150 to approve $25 billion in emergency funding for the U.S. Postal Service and to roll back recent operational changes designed to slow mail processing and delivery.
The legislation, H.R. 8015, was supported by the Democratic majority in the House; 26 Republicans also crossed the aisle to vote for the measure. The bill was sent to the Republican-controlled Senate, where it will die.
But the House roll call shows that even in strong Republican states, loyalty and reverence for Donald Trump can fade against public faith and attachment to the post office.
President Trump has criticized the Postal Service, often heatedly, and has appointed a Postmaster General to dismantle it by suffocating the agency’s payroll, scrambling its managers, thwarting its efficiency and blocking its upkeep.
Most congressional Republicans, including Kansans, are Trump devotees and see his wishes as their guiding light, if not command. They stand with the president because they either believe in him or are afraid of him or both. They believe constituents will support them because they love Trump.
The Postal Service, non-political, began in the summer of 1775, when the Second Continental Congress created the agency and named Benjamin Franklin the first Postmaster General. With the exception of a handful of federal institutions, the Postal Service has endured in progressive isolation and firm footing for this republic. Much of its appeal lies in the dedication and dependability of local people who see that the mail gets delivered.
Until now the Postal Service has avoided partisan pressure or control. The mails have been one sure thing for this country in good times and bad, an indispensible instrument for meaningful communication and commerce.
But the Postal Service is now under assault because millions more people want to avoid covid health risks and vote by mail. The President worries that the higher the turnout by mail, the lower his chances for reelection. His followers in congress join in, casting suspicions and votes against a Postal Service that may channel unfavorable votes.
Lately, citizens have begun to protest. The mail ballot, especially during a pandemic, is vital. But so are the medicine and merchandise, the letters and parcels that come by mail. The Postal Service unites the sprawling and diverse needs of one of the globe’s largest nations.
The people’s outcry has begun to worry Republicans who endorse slurs on the Postal Service. Consider the House members from Texas and Ohio, and how they voted on postal aid:
Texas elects 35 House members, 13 Democrats and 22 Republicans. All the Democrats voted for Postal Service aid; 14 Republicans voted no, but two voted yes and six were so nervous that they did not vote at all.
Ohio’s 16 members – 12 Republicans and four Democrats – represent a “swing” state in the presidential election. Seven Republicans voted against aid. One skipped the vote. Four Republicans joined four Democrats to support aid.
Thus in Ohio and Texas, a lot of Republicans are worried that support for the post office may be stronger than their president’s campaign to strangle it.
And Kansas? Sharice Davids, the lone Democrat, voted for postal aid. Three Republicans, including Roger Marshall, who is running for the Senate, voted no. They are not worried. They are confident Trump allies.
Our neighbors? Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma elect a combined 23 House members who voted 12-11 against Postal Service aid. A dozen Republicans said “no”. Seven Democrats and four Republicans – two from Nebraska and two from Missouri – were for the aid.
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The Postal Service faces a $13 billion operating deficit this year and may run out of cash soon. It was not always this way. By 1982, the agency was running entirely on fees and postage revenue, and without federal money. But in 2006, a Republican majority congress passed legislation that prevented the Service from raising rates by more than the Consumer Price Index. This, despite soaring fuel prices, cargo flight leases, health insurance premiums and other inflation-plagued expenses. The legislation also ordered the Postal Service to “pre-fund” employee pension and retirement costs, including health care, for the next 75 years.
The Postal Service logged a $900 million profit in 2006. Since then, clamps on its revenue ensure deficits. And those mandated, 75-year, pre-funded retirement benefits cost more than $5 billion annually. No other employer anywhere is forced to provide retirement benefits for employees who have not been hired, let alone born.
The post office, non-political, ever-reliable, has become an unwilling pawn in a wicked election year campaign. In Kansas our Republican House members do nothing. Our Senators are mute, loyal to their Republican leader and to their vicious president. The mail gets delivered and we are relieved, but for how long?
