Mail Slow Downs Could Keep Seniors, Veterans from Getting Vital Prescription Drugs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

August 17, 2020

Mail Slow Downs Could Keep Seniors, Veterans from Getting Vital Prescription Drugs

Tillis and Burr Refuse to Step Up As Major North Carolina GOP Donor Causes Chaos at USPS

Raleigh, N.C. - Over the weekend, news broke that the U.S. House of Representatives would be called back to Washington to take up legislation addressing delivery delays and the apparent politicization of the United States Postal Service. Since July, the Trump-appointed Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy has cut overtime pay and removed mail sorting machines from USPS facilities, leading to significant delivery delays. DeJoy is a North Carolina businessman and major GOP donor.

Postal workers have sounded the alarm about the dangers of delayed mail delivery “including prescriptions for veterans, seniors and people with disabilities.” The vast majority of Veterans Administration prescriptions are filled by mail. According to a Piedmont Rising report on veterans health care, nearly 700,000 veterans live in North Carolina, and 1 in 3 North Carolina veterans has a disability.

Despite the obvious need, Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr have failed to pass emergency funding for the USPS through the Senate, and opposed the HEROES Act, which would appropriate $25 billion to ensure the USPS could deliver mail in a safe, timely manner during the on-going pandemic.

“Senator Tillis and Senator Burr are putting North Carolina’s seniors, veterans, and vulnerable populations at risk by failing to give the USPS necessary pandemic funding,” said Piedmont Rising Executive Director Casey Wilkinson. “Safe, timely mail delivery is essential to ensuring that thousands of North Carolinians can get the prescription drugs they need, receive Social Security, and pay their bills. Politicizing the Post Office is a dangerous game, and Tillis and Burr must speak out against it. It’s time for them to step up and provide the resources needed to get North Carolinians their mail.”

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