22 August 2020
The House passed a bill on Saturday to give the U.S. Postal Service $25 billion and reverse operational changes made during widespread mail delays. 26 Republicans supported the measure, but the bill is unlikely to move forward after a White House veto threat.
Why it matters: More Americans than ever are expected to vote by mail during the coronavirus pandemic, but on-time delivery for priority and first class mail has continued to drop since early July.
- Six states are suing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on the grounds that his cost-cuts were "unlawful" and designed to impede efforts to conduct "free and fair elections."
Catch up quick: DeJoy this week suspended his proposed cost-cuts to the USPS until after the 2020 election to "avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail."
- Democrats' bill would keep USPS leaders from making changes that "impede prompt, reliable, and efficient services" to mail delivery through January 2021.
- The bill would require all election mail to be handled as first class and ban removing or decommissioning sorting machines and collection boxes — following reports from Oregon,Montana,Manhattan and Pennsylvania that the Postal Service was unbolting and hauling away mailboxes.
What they're saying: The bill, introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), received total support from Democrats, who argue the policies previously implemented by DeJoy, a Trump mega-donor, fed President Trump's efforts to "sabotage the election by manipulating the Postal Service," as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it in a letter to colleagues last week.
- GOP support: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), who voted in favor of the bill, called for a bipartisan effort to "address serious challenges USPS has been facing for quite some time now." Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) said he believed "a healthy, functioning Post Office is critical to our nation's wellbeing."
- Maloney released an internal USPS briefing prior to the House vote that detailed ongoing delays for priority and first class mail. "To those who still claim there are 'no delays' and that these reports are just 'conspiracy theories,' I hope this new data causes them to re-think their position and support our urgent legislation today," she said.
- Trump tweeted ahead of the vote: "Representatives of the Post Office have repeatedly stated that they DO NOT NEED MONEY, and will not make changes."
The other side: During a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Friday, DeJoy asserted that the Postal Service "is fully capable and committed to delivering the nation’s election mail fully and on time."
- He later said he was "extremely highly confident" that any ballots mailed seven days before the election would be delivered on time, and denied having any substantive policy conversations with Trump about USPS reforms.
What's next: DeJoy will testify before the House Oversight Committee on Monday.
- Maloney chairs the committee.
The USPS declined to comment.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.
