The Senate is in recess until Tuesday, September 8. In a rare move, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has called lawmakers back to Washington this week to consider legislation regarding U.S. Postal Service (USPS) operations. (House lawmakers have been out of session for the August recess since early August and had not planned to return until mid-September.) The House is expected to reconvene later this week. Speaker Pelosi made the announcement in a Dear Colleague letter yesterday.
The legislation the House is expected to consider regarding USPS is the Delivering for America Act (H.R. 8015), which would prohibit USPS from implementing any changes to the operations or level of service it had in place on January 1, 2020, until the coronavirus pandemic has ended. The legislation was introduced by Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, on August 11. The legislation comes after widespread concerns that operational and organizational changes being implemented by the Postmaster General could impact the November elections due to slowed mail deliveries. It is possible that additional legislative items will be considered when the House returns.
Negotiations regarding the next coronavirus relief package have not made progress since last week. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Voters in Alaska, Florida, and Wyoming will head to the polls this week for Congressional primaries.
