9th District Congressman Steve Cohen has weighed in 
emphatically on the changes in the U.S. postal service, already effected or proposed by President Trump’s newly installed Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy.
Both at a Monday press conference with local postal workers and in a Tuesday letter to DeJoy, Cohen demanded the restoration of machines already taken out of service. In the Memphis area, that has included several machines used in the process of sorting and delivering mail — affecting, as the Congressman noted, the successful delivery of “prescriptions, Social Security benefits, paychecks, tax returns, and absentee ballots.”
The text of the letter is as follows:
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy United States Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza West, Southwest Washington, D.C. 20260
Dear Postmaster General DeJoy,August 19, 2020
I write to express my deep concerns about the removal of sorting machines in Memphis and across the country and urge you to return the machines into service. Among other things, the Postal Service delivers prescriptions, Social Security benefits, paychecks, tax returns and absentee ballots to millions of Americans.
It is my understanding that five out of twenty-four sorting machines, one of three machines used for sorting larger pieces of mail such as magazines, and one machine used in the revenue tallying process have been removed. Management has also reduced the number of employees assigned to run the machines. This has slowed delivery and reduced the amount of mail that can be processed each day.
I am especially concerned about the large mail sorters which might be needed to process and sort ballots if they are designed to be larger than the average letter. At such a critical time with elections approaching, these changes are ill-advised and could be detrimental to our Democracy.
The delivery of mail is vital to the fabric of our society and attempts to reduce service have harmed people and will continue to harm people without immediate action. I strongly urge you to reverse your decision, make sure all machines are put back into operation and ensure people can receive their mail in a timely manner.
As always, I remain, Most sincerely,
Steve Cohen Member of Congress