Letter to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, and Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader , Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, and Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader - Bipartisan Group Urges House and Senate Leaders to Save the Postal Service

Letter

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader McCarthy, Majority Leader McConnell, and Minority
Leader Schumer:

The coronavirus crisis is wreaking havoc on the U.S. Postal Service. Without immediate
help from Congress and the Administration, the Postal Service--a vital staple of American
society since 1775--could cease to function by this summer.

First class and business mail volume are dropping at an alarming rate as a direct result of
the coronavirus crisis. Mail volume is down by more than 30% from the same period last year.
The Postal Service estimates revenue losses of $13 billion by the end of this fiscal year and $10
billion in the next fiscal year as a direct result of the crisis. Over the next ten years, the Postal
Service estimates that losses caused by the coronavirus would be $54 billion.1

This is a national emergency. The negative effects of this crisis will be borne hardest by
those in rural areas--where millions of Americans are currently sheltering in place and relying
on the Postal Service to deliver essential supplies.

The American people rely on the Postal Service to deliver crucial goods and services
every day, including more than a billion life-saving medications last year alone, millions of
economic stimulus checks and unemployment benefits to help during this crisis, and 2020
Census forms for every household in America.

The Postal Service is a fundamental component of America's economic infrastructure,
providing affordable, universal delivery of mail and e-commerce packages to more than 160
million households and business. The Postal Service propels a $1.6 trillion mailing industry that
employees 7.3 million people. It does all of this while operating as a business and receiving next
to nothing in taxpayer dollars.

Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress supported large infusions of liquidity for
other industries and companies that are critical to our nation's economy. For example, the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act provided $50 billion in grants and loans,
including payroll support, to passenger air carriers. According to the Bureau of Transportation
Statistics, the U.S. airline industry had 452,668 full time employees in 2019, meaning that the
Act provided the airline industry with the equivalent of more than $110,000 per employee. That would amount to more than $69 billion if applied to the Postal Service's 630,000 employees.

The bipartisan Postal Service Board of Governors unanimously asked Congress to
approve $25 billion in emergency appropriations to offset coronavirus-related losses, $25 billion
for "shovel-ready" projects to modernize the Postal Service, and access to $25 billion in
unrestricted borrowing authority from Treasury. We strongly support emergency funding for
the Postal Service and urge you to do the same.

The Postal Service is an indispensable component of America's critical infrastructure,
and its workers are on the frontlines every single day delivering information and packages to the
American people. We must save it now. We urge you to work in the coming days to pass
legislation that will give the Postal Service the assistance it needs to keep functioning on behalf
of the American people.

Sincerely,