Tell Congress to Fund a Postal Banking Pilot Program

From Americans for Tax Fairness (https://americansfortaxfairness.org/):

The U.S. Postal service provides a critical public good―but it needs our help.

Under the last two Republican administrations, the USPS has been under constant attack.

In 2006, during the George W. Bush administration, Congress passed a law mandating that the Postal Service prefund 75 years of its pension and healthcare costs over just one decade―crippling the USPS’s finances.[1] No other federal agency has to prefund these benefits for one year let alone 75.

Fast forward to today and Trump’s Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is still causing irreparable harm, intentionally slowing down the mail―undermining faith in the USPS.[2]

At a time when the Postal Service is already competing with private carriers such as UPS and FedEx (the latter one non-union, and a notorious tax dodger[3]), it must be allowed to expand its mission to generate new revenue and continue providing a low-cost way to connect our communities and our businesses.

Tell Congress to strengthen the USPS by funding Postal Banking pilot programs in the must pass 2022 budget bill being voted on by Congress next month. Click here to send a message to your senators and representative today at https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-fund-postal-banking-pilot-programs-in-the-2022-budget-appropriations-bill/.

Postal banking would allow post offices to provide low-cost savings and checking accounts to the millions of Americans who are unbanked or underbanked―creating an alternative to predatory payday lenders and the Big Banks.[4]

And Postal Banking isn’t a new idea. It existed in the U.S. from 1911 to 1967 and currently serves people in Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom and other countries.

Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders and Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bill Pascrell, and Marcy Kaptur are calling for $6 million in funding for Postal Banking pilot programs―and they need our help to make it happen!

Join Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund and our allies and send a message directly to your members of Congress today urging them to fund Postal Banking pilot programs in the 2022 budget.

Together, let’s stabilize the USPS’s finances, protecting this vital public service for all Americans.

[1] “How George Bush broke the Post Office,” The Week, April 16, 2018

[2] “Mail delivery slowdown: USPS to slow delivery starting October 1,” CBS News, Oct. 1, 2021

[3] “55 Corporations Paid $0 in Federal Taxes on 2020 Profits,” Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, April 2, 2021

[4] “25% of US households are either unbanked or underbanked,” CNBC, March 9, 2019