Trump’s USPS Sabotage Puts American Lives And Livelihoods At Risk

Us Veterans hit hard by USPS dismantling by Postmaster General Dejoy

Trump’s sabotage of the Postal Service puts American lives and livelihoods on the line after slowdowns have delayed the delivery of essential medications, hurt small businesses, held up paychecks, or kept bills from being paid on time.

Veterans aren’t able to get their medications or time-sensitive information from the Department of Veterans Affairs:

73-year-old Vietnam War veteran: “Vietnam War veteran Richard Valdez requested four mail-order medications from the Department of Veterans Affairs on July 25. Twenty-three days later, he’s still waiting on three of them. … ‘If that’s happening to me and I’m not living in a rural area, what’s happening to those guys?’ Valdez asked. ‘It’s not just meds that are a problem, but also time-sensitive information coming from the VA that’s being impacted.’”

Ohio Veterans Service Commission director: “Director Jeffrey Shull noticed the delay in mail delivery about two to three weeks ago. The county agency issues vouchers to help veterans pay their rent or utility bills. Service providers and landlords have seen a delay in receiving those vouchers. ‘We noticed it even before it became national news,’ Shull said. ‘The vets sometimes panic if they see their account is still not paid and understandably so.’”

Trump’s slowdown is dangerous for many Americans across the country who rely on the mail to get the lifesaving medications they need:

81-year-old Maryland resident: “Eighty-one-year-old Louise Martin’s blood pressure medicine mail delivery is 10 days overdue to her North Bethesda residence. ‘I think it’s outrageous, it’s absolutely outrageous,’ Martin, a retired US Health Service Corps officer, said. ‘This is not just needing some aspirin that you can buy over the counter. People’s lives are being threatened.’”

Nebraska cancer survivor: “One Omaha woman says slowdowns in the mail service could be fatal for many vulnerable Americans. Lorraine Touray discovered she had breast cancer two years ago. ‘I had the surgery…I had a lumpectomy before the radiation,’ said Touray. Now she takes medication daily. ‘I get my meds through the mail…now if I don’t take that Metrosal and if I don’t take that Metrosal then the cancer can pop back up,’ said Touray. And there’s more… ‘I’ve had a lot of blood clots in the past. If I don’t take that Zerelto that I’m taking for the blood clots. If I don’t take that for one day then the blood clots can come back in one day.’”

In the middle of a recession, Americans aren’t able to get their paychecks on time and risk missing bill payments:

Disabled Texas retiree: “The 59-year-old disabled retiree lives in an unincorporated community in eastern Bexar County. On a fixed income, he relies on the Postal Service to pay his bills. More than two weeks ago, Silva mailed his gas payment to a utility in Floresville and his water payment to another company in La Vernia. On Monday, neither had made it to its destination, he said. Now, the utility in La Vernia is threatening to shut off his water, he said. ‘It’s not around the corner for me to go drop off this bill,’ Silva said. ‘It’s like 18 miles from my house.’”

Louisiana resident: “‘My kids are having to suffer and I’m putting it together the best that I can,’ Shena Couvillur tells WAFB’s Donovan Jackson. Couvillur says she has been waiting for more than a month for her mail. ‘They won’t bring it to my house, they won’t give it to me. I have my unemployment [benefit checks] and all my stimulus checks money in there, [and] that is causing me to get in financial predicaments that we already have in [addition to] a crisis.’”

Louisiana resident: “Kenneth Washington says he’s in a similar situation and is having trouble paying his bills due to delays with his mail. ‘I came down to check and they tell me it’s on the mail truck,’ Washington explained. ‘I have seen the mail lady on one side of the streets, but never pass on our side.’”

“To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded.” said Dejoy after twenty states threatened to sue the USPS. He also indicated a stand by task force with resources will be in place October 1 to assist with election mail as it is his “number one priority.”

“US Postmaster General DeJoy’s announcement a temporary pause in operational changes delaying the mail is a necessary but insufficient first step in ending the President’s election sabotage campaign.  This pause only halts a limited number of the Postmaster’s changes, does not reverse damage already done to ensure voters will not be disenfranchised by the President this fall.

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