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Womack Statement on Speaker Pelosi’s Postal Bill

Washington, August 22, 2020

“When I was a kid, I couldn't wait for Saturday morning. My brothers, sisters, and I would get up to watch our favorite cartoons. Now, decades later, I am again on the floor of the House of Representatives watching a cartoon.” (watch full speech)

Washington, DC—August 22, 2020….Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) today released the below statement after voting against H.R. 8015, Speaker Pelosi’s partisan postal service bailout legislation. Before his vote, Womack also spoke out on the House floor on the failings of this bill, which is unnecessary, was put forth with no public hearings or markups, and will never be signed into law in its current form:

Congressman Womack said, “It’s telling that Speaker Pelosi called the House back into session for mere hours—not to help families and businesses struggling during the pandemic, but to spread baseless conspiracy theories about the Postal Service. They have manufactured an “emergency” and weaponized the legislative process for political theater. No hearing, no markup, no real crisis – just a bill devoid of the facts. The Postal Service needs reform – not a bailout – and, contrary to the fearmongering, the USPS has the resources needed to meet its immediate mission. The only thing failing the American people is the chamber in front of us.”

Watch his full floor speech before the vote here.

Facts:

  • The United States Postal Service has $15 billion cash on hand. 
  • Reports show that the Postal Service is financially solvent until at least August 2021.
  • The USPS has access to a $10 billion line of credit through the CARES Act and has not used it.
  • The Postal Service has the capacity to process and deliver absentee ballots, even at an increased volume. If all Americans vote by mail, which would account to about 330 million ballots, that would only be 75% of what USPS delivers in one single day.

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011. He serves as the Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Budget and is a member of the House Appropriations defense and transportation, housing and urban development subcommittees.

womack.house.gov

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