A one-time Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate now heading an advocacy group says the public could lose a valued service unless Congress acts.
Mike McCabe ran for Governor in 2018. Since then, he leads Our Wisconsin Revolution, started after the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential run.
The U.S. Postal Service is bracing for a $13 billion loss in revenue because of the coronavirus pandemic. No help was received in the multi-trillion-dollar relief packages approved by Congress and signed by the president. McCabe says the White House and congressional Republicans continue to be unmoved.
McCabe says the loss of postal delivery would hurt non-urban areas..
"We could be facing a situation where the Postal Service could simply cease to operate or be seriously wounded and weakened. That is particularly bad news for rural communities..."
McCabe grew up in rural Wisconsin and says loss of a post office is a near death sentence for tiny towns. He says it also widens economic disparities. He says the large delivery services are not going to deliver where they can't make money.
He says some favor privatization but he says from a standpoint of rural America, it would continue to be under served...
"The first thing that they'll do is start pulling back on the obligation to deliver mail no matter how difficult those households are to reach..."
McCabe says with more vote by mail, the Postal Service will be an increasingly important resource for upcoming elections because of the pandemic.