A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators are co-sponsoring legislation to provide the U.S. Postal Service with up to $25 billion to help address revenue losses and cover operational expenses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
S.4174, the Postal Service Emergency Assistance Act, also requires the board of governors to transmit to Congress a plan to ensure the long-term sustainability of the postal service.
Co-sponsors of the bill include Senators Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-ME, Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, Steve Daines, R-MT, Doug Jones, D-AO, and John Tester, D-MT.
“Nowhere is this agency more important than the state of Alaska,” Murkowski said. “It connects our communities to each other to the Lower 48, and to others around the world.
“With our vast and difficult terrain, a number of communities unconnected by road and spotty Internet connection for many communities, the postal service is a primary source of knowledge, commerce, and basic necessities. This legislation will be critical to helping the USPS address financial difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic. For Alaskans, this is truly a necessity — not a convenience.”
