While the concept of our postal service being shut down sounds a bit extreme, it could happen and soon. With cases of the novel coronavirus rising here in the US, we’re all forced to take things day by day.
Two US representatives have made claims that regular mail service could be shut down as early as June. This would be horrifying as lots of important things are delivered through our mail carriers. Those two representatives were Carolyn Maloney and Gerry Connolly and their statement has many concerned.
The statement issued by Connolly and Maloney goes as follows:
“The Postal Service is in need of urgent help as a direct result of the coronavirus crisis. Based on a number of briefings and warnings this week about a critical fall-off in mail across the country, it has become clear that the Postal Service will not survive the summer without immediate help from Congress and the White House. Every community in America relies on the Postal Service to deliver vital goods and services, including life-saving medications. The Postal Service needs America’s help, and we must answer this call.”
This statement was issued on the 23rd of this month (March) and brings forth a lot of questions. If the Postal Service stops operating the consequences we end up facing could be enormous. Those in rural areas will be unable to get the things they need that cannot be found locally and medications will not be delivered to those who desperately need them. According to the House’s website, the Postal Service delivered more than a billion shipments of prescriptions last year and that number is expected to skyrocket as this pandemic continues.
Congress must not ignore the US Postal Service. Mail volume plummeted this week and USPS will run out of cash by June. Every household and every business in America relies on our postal service.
We can and should take swift action to return it to solvency or risk its collapse.
— Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) March 20, 2020
It should also be noted that in regard to elections some votes are sent in through the mail. As mail volumes go down things are getting serious and something needs to be done. While some do not think the organization needs as much money as is being talked over others believe it is crucial. According to Politico the postal service is according to the 2.5 trillion dollar coronavirus relief package would be getting around 25 billion dollars.
This would reset the Postal Service’s borrowing limit and eliminate its debt which was somewhere around 11 billion dollars. While not everyone knows this the Postal Service itself is an independent agency within the US government and mostly funds itself. With so many places closing down and lots of businesses losing money we do not yet know how seriously this pandemic is going to affect our country but things are not looking good.
While the mail might be something your average person doesn’t consider as being ‘that important’ to many it is crucial for their survival, especially right now. While this pandemic is changing a lot of things, keep your head up and remember sometimes things get worse before they get better. We can only hope that the government does what it should to keep everyone afloat during these hard times.