The latest coronavirus relief deal, which is Congress is aiming to approve later today, provides $10 billion to help the ailing U.S. Postal Service, legislative aides familiar with the text tell Axios.
Why it matters: This new round of funding comes as the Postal Service has struggled to operate amid the pandemic, withstand a surge in Christmas shipping and be ready for a busy January, when Americans typically receive documents used for their tax preparation.
- A fresh round of stimulus checks, this time $600 per adult and child, also are expected to be mailed before the end of this year.
Driving the news: The new bill will convert $10 billion from the government's March CARES Act loan program into direct funding for the USPS. The money will be used for operational and other increased costs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Democrats portrayed the outcome as a win, since it reallocated money the administration had threatened to eliminate.
The backdrop: The Postal Service has faced widening losses during the past several months, and had been projected to run out of money as early as Oct. 1 if Congress did not act.
- President Trump has also waged open warfare on the Postal Service, criticizing its deals with express shippers such as Amazon and installing a longtime Republican donor, Louis DeJoy, as postmaster general.