Press Releases

In the hearing, David Williams revealed new, detailed information regarding the appointment of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the unprecedented role that Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin has played in USPS operations. 

Significantly, David Williams noted that Secretary Mnuchin sought intrusive control over core USPS operations that the USPS itself deemed to be illegal. Mnuchin also sought to impose a pricing practice that “would be ruinous for the Postal Service” and significantly impair its ability to compete in the package delivery market. He also alleged that DeJoy’s name was put forward by Republican board member John M. Barger, and that the hiring process was rigged for DeJoy, noting that he was coached during the interview process and that no background check was conducted before his hiring. Williams also noted that at the time of his departure this spring, the U.S. Postal Service had full confidence in their ability to facilitate vote by mail in this election. Now, just months later, USPS has informed 46 states and the District of Columbia that ballots cast through the mail may not arrive in time to be counted.  

“If this is the beginning of what the president promised, it is the end of the postal service,” David Williams warned members of the Progressive Caucus during his testimony.

“The explosive allegations we heard today from David Williams, the former Vice Chair of the Board of Governors at the Postal Service, merit serious investigation by Congress,” said CPC Hearing Co-Chairs Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Mark Pocan (WI-02) and Jamie Raskin (MD-08). “It appears that the Trump Administration, led by Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, has directed a corrupt, long-running sabotage of the U.S. Postal Service and threatened the reliable delivery of the mail and packages. As we heard from our witnesses today, the right-wing weaponization of the Postal Service has far-reaching implications for public health and is an attack on our very democracy. Congress must act swiftly to investigate these allegations and ensure that our postal system remains an affordable, reliable public good free from the political attacks that want to destroy it.”

Text of the witnesses’ opening remarks is available here.

Watch the full hearing here.

“Last week, we sent a letter to Chairman Powell, along with more than 50 of our colleagues, urging him to make necessary improvements to the Federal Reserve’s Municipal Liquidity Facility to improve its usefulness to states and cities. Congress intended for the MLF to help local governments avoid painful cuts at a time when more resources are needed to fight a deadly virus. This week’s announcement, lowering penalty rates across the board for MLF-eligible entities, was a needed step in the right direction and appeared to recognize that the MLF’s purchase of one bond in three months is not meeting that objective.

“However, this one change is insufficient to prevent more layoffs and economic turmoil. The Federal Reserve needs to recognize that, unlike lending to corporations and financial markets, lending to state and local governments has a different primary goal of quickly getting municipalities the resources they need to avoid destructive austerity and layoffs.

“We appreciate that the Federal Reserve has shown it is willing to make improvements to the Municipal Liquidity Facility – now it must also implement additional substantial changes that we noted in our letter. For the MLF to be an effective tool in our economic recovery, the Federal Reserve should align assistance to states and cities with its emergency lending offered to the private sector and extend the maturity period of the loans.

“Chairman Powell himself has emphasized that public sector layoffs and budget cuts made the last recession worse. Further improving the MLF is one key way that the Fed can avoid repeating the mistakes from the last crisis. We can’t afford to shortchange this recovery – Chairman Powell must make meaningful improvements to the MLF before the damage to our communities becomes irreparable.”

“We want to thank Senator Schumer for joining us yesterday to discuss our shared priorities on the next coronavirus package. Like Senator Schumer, we believe it’s essential to protect the $600/week expanded unemployment, extend the eviction moratorium and other housing protections, provide robust funding for states and municipalities, and ensure that families have the support they need to stay afloat during this unprecedented crisis. We’re also supportive of Senate Democrats’ efforts to invest billions in childcare and the safe reopening of schools, and redirect funding from corporate slush funds to low-income communities and communities of color which have been hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. It’s essential that Congress take a comprehensive approach to the pandemic in this next bill – we agree with Senator Schumer that a piecemeal approach is insufficient to meet the scale of this crisis.

“The American people shouldn’t have to bear the consequences of Republican dysfunction, cruelty, and greed. We’re grateful to Senator Schumer for joining us yesterday and look forward to working together to pass a strong package that benefits the everyday families – not billionaires and corporate donors – who need relief in this pandemic.”

“Millions of Americans are on the brink of complete economic devastation as COVID-19 cases and joblessness claims continue to rise, and yet the Republican response is to dramatically hollow out unemployment and housing protections in the midst of a pandemic. For more than 30 million unemployed Americans, the Republican proposal would amount to $400 less in critical relief every week as many families are already stretching resources to put food on the table, pay the bills, and make ends meet. This is nothing less than a policy of mass evictions, mass homelessness, mass poverty, and mass hunger that would unleash widespread suffering unlike anything experienced in America since the Great Depression. All the while, big corporations would be shielded from any responsibility or liability for endangering the wellbeing of the public.

“There’s no explanation for the Republican proposal except cruelty and greed. Democrats – and the American people – should demand that Congress extend the $600 per week of expanded unemployment, along with an extension of housing protections, another moratorium on utility shutoffs, and continued financial aid to families that provides certainty to families and workers as the virus continues its rampage. Additionally, Congress should ensure more businesses — particularly small and minority-owned businesses who have yet to get the necessary relief to stay afloat — receive assistance directly from the government instead of through banks, easing the process of aid so they aren’t forced to close their doors permanently. We should also ensure that this latest bill does not become a free-for-all for corporations looking for bailouts, handouts, and liability shields, and prevent profiteering off the virus and people’s pain. Instead of shielding corporations, we should be ensuring that all essential workers are protected and states have access to increased PPE and testing supplies. The American people can’t afford half-measures – we must do better for the millions of families who are counting on us.”