Senator Hassan Highlights Importance of Postal Service to Rural NH Communities at Hearing to Consider Postal Board of Governors Nominees

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan highlighted the critical role that the United States Postal Service (USPS) plays in delivering vital supplies to households in New Hampshire and across the country, especially for those in rural communities and who experience mobility issues, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. USPS is expected to lose $13 billion this year as a result of the pandemic and will likely run out of funding by September unless Congress intervenes.   

To watch the Senator’s remarks and questioning click here.

“One of the issues before us today is the future of the United States Postal Service, an agency that is committed to serving all Americans, in every part of the country – from urban centers to rural roads. And during this pandemic, the Postal Service has been an especially vital lifeline for medications, foods, and other supplies for many Americans,” Senator Hassan said during a hearing to consider nominees for the USPS Board of Governors and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Senator Hassan continued, “A collapse or reduction of postal services would negatively impact all Americans, but it would disproportionally affect those who live on rural delivery routes, people with disabilities, and seniors who might have mobility issues. The Postal Service is often the only carrier that will deliver mail that ‘last mile’ to rural homes.”

The Senator also raised the importance of protecting the safety of postal workers during the pandemic, “Even as it struggles financially and faces some of the unprecedented challenges due to COVID-19 that we’ve discussed, the Postal Service continues to deliver mail and packages across the U.S. The men and women of the postal workforce are risking their health to serve their fellow Americans, and we have to find ways to ensure that the Postal Service can continue to serve the American people while keeping its workforce safe.”

Discussing the killing of George Floyd, Senator Hassan said, “Our entire country is reeling from the senseless killing of George Floyd, and the reality of unequal access to justice, health care, education, and economic advancement many Americans face because of the color of their skin.” Senator Hassan asked the nominees for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia about how they plan to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their race, will be treated equally under the law. All of the nominees discussed their commitment to working to ensure equality in their courtroom.

“It starts with the judge,” said Superior Court of the District of Columbia Associate Judge nominee Carl Ross. “And it is your job as the judge to make sure you’re putting aside your predispositions and personal bias and ensuring that each litigant that comes before you is treated equally and fairly, that their matters are heard on the merits, and to set that same expectation for your entire court staff.”

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