House Democrats have accused President Trump of trying to suppress absentee mail-in voting amid the pandemic, ahead of the November election. People across the U.S. have reported service slowdowns as the postmaster general appointed by Trump has made cuts to the agency.
Long Island Congressman Tom Suozzi said these partisan attacks will also hurt people and businesses who rely on the postal service.
"We all should be concerned about the disruption of the mail service and the effect it will have on senior citizens, people waiting for their prescription drugs, people waiting for their social security checks, on people waiting for their package, people waiting for their legal documents, people waiting for their passport to be mailed in,” Suozzi said.
Suozzi has cosponsored legislation that would prohibit operational changes to the postal service that would impede services until the pandemic has ended.
Kevin Tabarus from Mailhandlers Union Local 300 called the partisan cuts “unprecedented.”
“Never have we had a postmaster general out not just try and ruin the postal service. We have never had the White House play politics with the postal service for political gain," Tabarus said. "Your mail is being delayed not because of us.”
He said overtime for postal workers has been cut, and some mail-processing machines on Long Island have been dismantled.
The federal government has said it would stop dismantling machines before the election.
The Postal Service anticipates a $13 billion loss this fiscal year due to the pandemic. Postal service officials say it needs federal aid to survive.