People are gathering outside local post offices demanding that Congress fund the United States Postal Service. The protests are part of a larger, nationwide moment where hundreds are being held Saturday.
Channel 2′s Lauren Pozen was at the post office off Williams Drive in northeast Atlanta where people like Jan Rivers gathered to make their voices heard.
“The people of America want Congress to fund the USPS and we want to protect vote by mail,” she said.
Rivers lives in the metro area. She said many people have not been happy with what’s going on with the postal service.
“Contrary to what they want us to believe, it is not a business. It doesn’t need to be run like a business and it is a service and it’s a service that all Americans have depended on,” she said.
On Friday, the United States Postmaster General testified in front of lawmakers about the controversial cuts made. He said they were not meant to negatively impact mail-in votes for the 2020 election.
“The Postal Service is fully capable and committed to delivering the nation’s election mail securely and on time,” Louis DeJoy said.
DeJoy defended the operational changes and cost-cutting measures. He said the agency is expected to report a loss of more than $9 billion this year.
He also fired back against concerns the changes are an effort to sabotage the mail-in voting process.
“Trying to have any negative impact on the election is an outrageous claim,” he said.
Rivers and others protesting have called for DeJoy’s resignation and say the bottom line is the USPS is under attack.
“We are watching and we see what you are doing and we are not going to stand for it,” she said.
The NAACP also filed a lawsuit against the USPS and DeJoy, claiming his policies are sabotaging the USPS in order to disenfranchise voters.
The postmaster general will be facing more questions Monday when he’s scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee.
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