BREAKING: House (Including 26 Republicans) Passes $25 Billion Bill to Help Post Office; GOP Senate Dismisses as ‘Piecemeal’ Solution

Saturday afternoon, the Democrat-controlled House passed a $25 billion emergency funding bill to aid the United States Postal Service. Twenty-six House Republicans voted to support the bill, but so far, the Republican Senate has not been enthusiastic about the bill.

In addition to the $25 billion in extra funding, the bill also halts several of DeJoy’s changes, and officially designates ballots as “first-class” mail, granting them a priority status meant to help speed their delivery.

Support for the bill has fallen along largely partisan lines, with many Republicans insisting that cost-cutting measures instituted by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, like the elimination of most overtime hours and reduction in number of mail-sorting machines, are prudent, and Democrats objecting that the impact on the nation’s mail has been too detrimental.

One bit of evidence Democrats used to counter Republican arguments was a five-page document released by the House Oversight Committee, showing that there had been measurable delays in both mail processing and delivery times.

“We want the Postmaster General to undo the damage he has already done,” said House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) on Friday. “Every member of Congress should support this bill.”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi touted the bill to reporters on Saturday, accurately predicting that she would be able to secure some bipartisan support and noting that she expected Republican Senators to “be hearing from their constituents because this hits home.”

CNN national correspondent Suzanne Malveaux described the bill as “an issue that resonated not only with Democrats but also with Republicans,” saying that it potentially represented “a reality call and a wake up call” for Republicans. Malveaux noted the pressure on Republicans in rural districts whose constituents depend on reliable mail service, in addition to the millions of Americans who get their prescription medicines through the mail.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell‘s office issued a press release shortly after the House bill passed, dismissing it as a “piecemeal” bill that was “indulg[ing] overblown fears about the Postal Service” while failing to provide other pandemic relief.

Watch the video above, via CNN.