CHERRY HILL, NJ – Today, U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) joined current and retired postal workers, union leaders and local officials outside the United States Postal Service (USPS) distribution center in Bellmawr to highlight the urgent need to protect the Postal Service. The Postal Service is a pillar of our democracy, enshrined in the Constitution and essential for providing critical services: delivering prescriptions, Social Security checks, paychecks, tax returns and vote-by-mail ballots to millions of Americans.

“'To inform and connect' – that was the intent of our Founding Fathers when they enshrined the Postal Service in our Constitution,” said Congressman Norcross. “It is a pillar of our democracy, and today it is more essential than ever, as millions of Americans rely on the Postal Service each day during this pandemic to safely receive prescription medication, Social Security benefits, paychecks, tax refunds and vote-by-mail ballots in a timely manner. With the lives and livelihoods of Americans around the nation at stake, the President’s attempts to undermine our democracy will not go unchallenged. I will work with my colleagues in the House this week to pass legislation, protecting the Postal Service from this Administration’s dangerous campaign to sabotage it and disenfranchise voters.”

The event follows recent actions by President Trump, his Administration and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to implement sweeping new operational changes that degrade postal service, delay the mail and threaten to deny the ability of eligible Americans to cast their votes through the mail in the upcoming elections in a timely fashion. The Postal Service itself has warned that voters, even if they send in their ballots by state deadlines, may be disenfranchised in 46 states and in Washington, D.C. by the Postmaster General’s manufactured delays.

“Our members are essential workers; they come to work day in and day out to process the mail, even working graveyard shifts,” said Vince Tarducci, APWU National Business Agent. “Over the last couple of months, we have been on daily briefings to make sure our members come to work feeling safe. Along the way, we’ve had some bumps in the road, and the latest issue we are facing is vote-by-mail. We are front and center. We deal with billions of extra pieces of mail during the holidays – we certainly can deal with vote-by-mail, and the Congressman has been with us every single step of the way.”

“Letter carriers value their relationship with the public and take great pride in serving their community,” said National Association of Letter Carriers Legislative Liaison Doug Dash. “We thank you for taking a stand for what’s right, and we will continue to work together to fight back against any harmful cuts to the Postal Service.”

This Saturday, the House will return to session to vote on Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Maloney’s ‘Delivering for America Act,’ which prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service it had in place on January 1, 2020, and provides $25 billion in critical funding to support the Postal Service.

“We show our strong support of the Postal Service. The residents of Bellmawr rely on the Postal Service,” said Bellmawr Mayor Chuck Sauter. “They provide critical, consistent services like the delivery of medication, checks and many other important items. During the pandemic, their role is more essential than ever.”

“Our goal must be to make voting easier and more accessible, not to make it harder,” said Camden County Freeholder Melinda Kane. “Everybody counts, and every vote matters. We need to not take resources way from the Postal Service – but increase them.”

On Monday, August 24, Postmaster General DeJoy and Chairman of the USPS Board of Governors Robert Duncan will testify at an urgent hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Reform. The Postmaster General will answer to Congress and the American people as to why they are pushing these dangerous new policies.