During his press conference on Thursday, Trump "said that he would in fact sign a coronavirus relief deal if it had funding for the U.S. Postal Service, after saying earlier in the day that he wouldn’t accept a bill with USPS money," Melanie Zanona reports for Politico. "But Democrats are still worried that Trump will try to impede mail-in voting efforts ahead of the election, especially after he explicitly said that was the reason he was opposed to USPS money."
House Democrats' relief bill would allot $25 billion to the Postal Service, while the Senate Republicans' bill includes no aid for the financially strapped agency, on which rural Americans disproportionately rely. Partly because of a drop in mail volume, the service projected in May that it will lose another $22 billion over the next year and a half, and could run out of money by September without a bailout.
The House and Senate are still reportedly "miles apart" on agreeing on the next pandemic relief package, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Since both chambers are out of town for the August recess, it'll be September before they even begin to negotiate on a reconciled coronavirus bill. They'll also be busy working on the omnibus spending bill that must be passed by Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown, Zanona reports, all of which will make for a "crazy September."
House Democrats' relief bill would allot $25 billion to the Postal Service, while the Senate Republicans' bill includes no aid for the financially strapped agency, on which rural Americans disproportionately rely. Partly because of a drop in mail volume, the service projected in May that it will lose another $22 billion over the next year and a half, and could run out of money by September without a bailout.
The House and Senate are still reportedly "miles apart" on agreeing on the next pandemic relief package, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Since both chambers are out of town for the August recess, it'll be September before they even begin to negotiate on a reconciled coronavirus bill. They'll also be busy working on the omnibus spending bill that must be passed by Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown, Zanona reports, all of which will make for a "crazy September."
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