We are just contemplating whether this is the first time we have ever done this on a saturday. Thank you for being here on a saturday. I am so proud of our members who are here to protect the post office. Before i go into that, i want to say, what a sad time it is across the country with storms coming and the rest. From my own personal experience in california, we have wildfires the that are burning lay of the land, the size of the state of rhode island. The size of the state of rhode island. We think our firefighters for their courage, our First Responders for their courage and community service. It is so sad. I remember when we had the fires before. The fires the smoke will not exceed the love we have for each other, to come to each others support. It is it is very, very sad. I commend our governor, governor newsom, for his leadership. If affected, all of us salute our firefighters and all of that. We just came out of the convention, as you know. The valuesroud of that were presented there. We comemarks i said, together not to decry the darkness, but to light a way forward for our country. That was my statement, but i was so pleased that it was so much a tobe, joe president , statement. Today i come to shine a light forward for our postal system most people dont know perhaps you do how significant the postal system was in the establishment of our country. Since that time it has been as american as apple pie, baseball, you name it. Over 90 of the American People support the postal system. There isnt agency which i can make that claim. It is a Service Postal service. When people say, well, it doesnt pay its own way, it is not a business, it is a service. While we also want to subject every federal dollars to scrutiny, let us remember that it is a service. No business that i can think of whatever be saddled with what we have done to the Postal Service, saying that they in 2006 a bill passed that said the Postal Service should pay 75 years of its Health Benefits in 10 years. 75 years of its Health Benefits in 10 years. Responsibility that i dont think most businesses could meet. On also come out with top. Earlier this year mr. Defazio put forth appeal a bill to limit what that is. When they say it doesnt pay, we had to do these cuts, and those cuts we are cutting service. We are cutting service. New postmasterhe general. We have called our members back for legislation that allocates the resources 25 billion that were recommended by the u. S. Postal service, the board of governors of the Postal Service. They are a board that are bipartisan and 100 appointed by president donald trump. The 25 recommended billion. Actually, they recommend it more, which we will have another bill. That is part of this legislation. It is also necessary for us to have this legislation because in my conversations with postmaster general which were most unsatisfactory said he had no intention of restoring the post office boxes that were removed, no intention of restoring the sorting machinery in the Postal Service and other infrastructure very essential to keeping the mail on time. And when i suggested that we electionballots in the treated as first class mail, he said he had no intention of doing that, but if it was in the bill, he would. Yesterday you see that he is saying he will. We will make sure that happens because his comments are one thing, his actions will be another. That is why we have this legislation. We will be talking about it on the floor. Our distinguished chair of the committee of jurisdiction be making her presentation once the voters over. At 1 00. We will have more to say. I think it is useful to people to take the private does. , messages froma the tooth fairy, families communicating. I know people are doing things on social media, and that is good. As a grandmother i can tell you that there is no substitute for a drawing or note from your grandchild through the mail. As important as that is to our culture, our health 1. 2 billion subscript prescriptions sent in the mail in 2019. 80 , 90 , depending on the toures we are trying verify them at least 80 of the prescriptions from the v. A. Sent to our veterans through the mail. When the mail slows down, the health of our veterans are set back. That too we are hearing from the mail slowing down. And that is what we have to address today. Again, we will go over all of the provisions of the bill about stopping the slowing down of mail. This was an intention. Now the postmaster general is saying we are not going to do any of this until after the election. Our legislation is not just about the election. It is about surprise, surprise the coronavirus. Big impacthich has a on the election, as well as on the health of the American People. This is an just about until after the election, it is about the length, as we say in the bill, the end of january or the end of coronavirus, whichever takes longer. This is why this legislation is necessary too, the cap because even in his statement they dont go far enough. That, theed about history of it. In the early 1770s, building on ,he work of Benjamin Franklin who oversaw the post office, the revolutionaries established underground networks, committees of correspondence, and then the constitutional post that enable them to communicate without the knowledge of the british. It goes on to say, the earliest committee was formed in 1764 in boston. Our first postmaster general was Benjamin Franklin. The exchanges that followed what solidarity build during the Turbulent Times and helped him about first continental congress. Bring about the first continental congress. Alexi de tocqueville spoke in said, he would praise the Postal Service, writing that the most enlightened world district of france is there an interest rule as an intellectual movement on such a scale as in this wilderness. So, as i say, rooted in american history, part of the communication that established going from colonies to a country, they are there for americas families to communicate, as this is to thrive, medicines to be delivered. Case, time of an election, time of the pandemic, a safeway for people to vote. It is very important to shine a bright light on the postal system and to show our appreciation for what it has done. Nearly 100,000 97,000 veterans are employed by the Postal Service. Us, is a joyous occasion to come together, to vote for the Postal Service, and to meet the needs of our people. Can asktituents you any member of congress across the country, democratic or republican if they are hearing from their constituents on this subject. And they are. As we go forward, just denote that tomorrow will be 100 days today 99 days since we passed the heroes act. Sois very urgent, even more than when we passed it for us to have the values this is not a discussion about just dollars. It is about values and how we value the health and wellbeing of the American People. How we honor and value the work of our heroes, our health care workers, our First Responders, our teachers, our transportation, sanitation, food workers, all employed by state and local government. The big obstacle Going Forward is the attitude of the republicans let the states go bankrupt and not fully coming to the table to support that. Of course, as a grandmother and them of grandchildren in school and children who teach, we really have to make it safe for our children to go to school. That takes money. That takes money for distancing and more teachers, figure classrooms, or or classrooms, ventilation and the rest. Out of the 100 guest School SystemsSchool Districts in the country, over 75 of them are 62, all virtual, another dozen or so hybrid. A small number actual. Our fight but the administration has been that they want the bulk of the money to go only if you actually open up, which is a small percentage of the biggest School Districts in our country. Schoolspays mostly for but state and local government . Thatnt have the firings occur if we dont fund and state find state and local government for the funds they have spent, the outlays have made on the coronavirus and the loss of revenue. More important than that is the the firings that will occur could be in the millions. Already it is 1. 5 million. Could be 3. 5 million or people fired. What does that do but add to the the unemployment ranks . What does that do but hurt our economy . In any event, today is one piece of what we have in the heroes act. Im not for splitting it up, except this is an emergency and it has policy in it that was not in the heroes act. I am very proud of our members for coming back for this. Over the course of the day i will be meeting with them. We will be talking about the justification, by what justification scientific, institutionally, etc. Are we saying need so much money for education than the administration is ready to give. But what scientific basis are we justifying the funding we want for testing, tracing, treatment, distancing, etc. . We sayingfication are we need over 50 billion for childcare . We are telling people we have to go to they have to go to work. They cant because they have a child who is not going to school. In somee is an answer of those cases. The list goes on, and we have put the justification for it, we do so more intensely as we negotiate an agreement we must have for the American People. Again, we believe this now and take you back live to the u. S. House and debate on the u. S. Postal service bill. Of january 3, 2019, of the following individual on the sert on the part of the