SYRACUSE, NY (WRVO) - U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is hoping to include $25 billion dollars in the next coronavirus relief package to help the struggling U.S. Postal Service. In East Syracuse Monday, Gillibrand said full funding is needed for the Post Office, to keep it operating at full capacity.
She said she's hopeful Democrats and Republicans can negotiate some kind of agreement on this.
"Because Mitch McConnell said $10 billion, maybe that’s a place we can start negotiating it, and get as close to the $25 billion I’m calling for and the Post Office needs," Gillibrand said. "So I’m hopeful we’ll get the resources."
Gillibrand is also calling on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to reverse changes that have led to delays in mail delivery. In Syracuse, four of 15 high-speed sorting machines were removed, causing significant processing delays.
"The U.S. Postal Service is the only institution that is in the Constitution, that it’s a right for the American people to receive their mail," she said. "What he’s doing is illegal, inappropriate, unethical and wrong. And I hope every American knows President Trump is attacking the Postal Service and everyone who works there to help his own election."
Trump has been critical of mail-in ballots, which he says, without evidence, are a large source of election fraud.