GOP congresswoman: Helping the post office is 'a recipe for disaster'

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) attacked a new coronavirus relief package put forward by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats that would help shore up the U.S. Postal Service, provide federal funding to hospitals, and help local governments that are struggling during the crisis.

“Speaker Pelosi wants Christmas to come early this year,” Foxx tweeted Monday morning. “Instead of assessing what is already working, she’s choosing to advance a new stimulus package with more irresponsible socialist stocking stuffers. Blindly throwing money at this pandemic is a recipe for disaster.”

According to Axios, the new relief bill would provide $25 billion to keep the U.S. Postal Service from going into bankruptcy. The New York Times recently reported that the postal service could become bankrupt as soon as September, and such an event would disrupt mail service around the country. In 2019, USPS employed more than 630,000 people in the nation.

The new relief package would also provide $1 trillion to state and local governments, many of which are struggling because of lost revenue during the crisis. In a Saturday letter to congressional leaders, groups representing the nation’s mayors and police chiefs warned that cities could be forced to eliminate police officer positions if they do not receive assistance.

“As a result of COVID-19 we have a public health crisis, a public safety crisis, and a fiscal crisis in our cities,” the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Major Cities Chiefs Association wrote. “As you consider a fourth bill to address the ravages of the pandemic, we urge you to include direct, flexible fiscal assistance to our cities so that we can continue to do everything possible to protect and serve our residents.”

The package Foxx opposed would also help hospitals struggling during the pandemic. Hospitals across the country are losing a billion dollars a day, CNBC reported, in large part because elective surgeries have been postponed or canceled during the pandemic.

In Foxx’s home state, the North Carolina Hospital Association estimated that hospitals in the state will lose $3 billion in revenue by the end of May.

The package would provide additional direct financial assistance to Americans as well. In a previous congressional bill, most Americans were allotted $1,200 from the federal government.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy advocated against Congress moving quickly to provide more relief to Americans.

“Before we take up any new bill, let’s have hearings,” McCarthy told USA Today on Monday. “As states open up, there will be a difference of what’s needed today than is needed tomorrow.”

If there is another relief bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has demanded provisions to protect corporations from lawsuits if workers get sick when forced back to work. He described the policy initiative as a “red line” for any additional relief.

Foxx’s opposition to additional coronavirus relief comes as the pandemic has led to a major economic crisis that has hit working Americans and small businesses hard. In April, more than 20 million Americans lost their jobs, making April’s unemployment rate the highest since the Great Depression.

In North Carolina, more than 1 million people have applied for unemployment insurance. According to the Winston-Salem Journal, that means that more than 1 in 5 of the state’s workforce from March has filed for unemployment.

Foxx’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.