Pelosi Floor Speech on H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks on the Floor of the House of Representatives in support of H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Speaker Pelosi. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Thank you for the recognition. And I want to salute the leadership of Congresswoman – Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and Ranking Member James Comer. Thank you both for bringing this important legislation – your determined leadership to have a bipartisan bill, which is really important. And doing so, again, in bipartisanship would make our Founders proud.

Madam Speaker, 230 years ago this month, our fledgling nation took a bold step toward the future by formally establishing the modern United States Postal Service: a beautiful thread that continues to weave together communities across America.

Today, I rise in support of the Postal Service Reform Act, which takes long-overdue actions to strengthen the pillar of our democracy so that it continues to serve our communities for decades to come.

Since our earliest days, when couriers on horseback traversed the colonies, America's postal system has been a model for the world. Indeed, our Founders knew the value of a strong postal service, enshrining it into Article I Section 8 of our Constitution – quote, ‘The Congress shall have the Power to – establish Post Offices and post Roads' – end of quote.

And when Alexis de Tocqueville visited in the early 19th Century, he was in awe of how our Postal Service brought Americans together, writing there was, quote, ‘No French province in which the inhabitants knew each other as well as 13 million people spread over the extent of the United States did.'

Yet, with certain decisions and the rest – it put this all-American institution onto a path of insolvency. As was indicated by the Gentleman who just spoke, experts project that USPS will run out of cash as soon as 2024, and reduced services and added delays would only continue and bring harm in every zip code.

Meanwhile, our nation continues to ask more and more of our postal workers. Today, they deliver to nearly 159 million delivery points – imagine that, 159 million delivery points across the nation. And they add one million more delivery points each year. And millions of Americans depend on USPS to deliver prescriptions, Social Security benefits, paychecks, tax returns, absentee ballots and more.

I will just say – in the period of COVID, the U.S. Postal Service was angelic. It was delivering prescriptions to our veterans who were in need of those prescriptions, as well as to our senior – other seniors and others. So, we thank them for that.

Okay so – this legislation would put the Postal Service on stronger financial footing while improving the reliability of its services, while protecting benefits for employees and retirees. The legislation makes bipartisan, common-sense provisions that will welcome all future postal retirees into Medicare, free U.S. Postal Service from the unnecessary requirement to prefund retiree health benefits 75 years in advance and – we call that a financial albatross – and improve USPS reliability with new transparency measures that will help ensure consistent, on-time mail delivery.

I have much more on that, that I'll submit to the record, Madam Speaker.

As a mother of five and grandmother of nine, I heavily depend on the Postal Service for all kinds of things. Children writing letters to Santa – they still write letters to Santa. They do not text Santa – some do, maybe, but a letter to Santa is very important. Parents sharing graduation photos, friends offering condolences, wedding announcements – whatever it is, so much of it is still a question of the Postal Service delivering it. And Servicemembers communicating with home – so important.

This important legislation takes a strong step to empower the Postal Service to continue its crucial mission: to improve the lives – our lives, touch our hearts, connect our communities. With that, I once again want to thank Chairwoman Maloney and Ranking Member Comer and urge a strong bipartisan vote for this legislation. And, again, even though we're communicating electronically in so many ways, there's just no substitute for that personal connection that the Postal Service provides for us.

Thank you. I yield back the balance of my time.

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