Members of the Congressional Delegation of Maryland,

I write to you to urge you to work out a plan to save the United States Postal Service. While the agency has been struggling financially for years, the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the situation and the USPS is now hanging by a thread.

The postal service employs 600,000 citizens around the country, with over 10,000 employed here in Maryland. Considering the already unprecedented economic situation and skyrocketing unemployment due to the pandemic, allowing the USPS to go under would only add to the problem.

There are also other economic issues at play. Small businesses, of which there are almost 500,000 in Maryland, rely heavily on USPS, whether for shipping goods, sending invoices, receiving payments, or other needs. To cut down on service, or allow it to completely collapse altogether, would harm a majority of these businesses.

The United States Postal Service is also important in maintaining our democracy. Nearly 25 million people voted by mail in 2016. Given the fact that we are currently fighting a pandemic, it seems very likely that more people than ever will be looking to vote by mail. Without USPS, millions of voters could effectively be silenced.

USPS exists to ensure mail service to all of our nation’s citizens. It’s used to send prescriptions, food, medical supplies, and a whole lot more. In our current situation they have been dubbed essential employees, but, unfortunately, not essential enough to secure a stable future.

Please, Representatives and Senators of Maryland, work to find a solution before the United States Postal Service completely collapses. We, as a nation, cannot afford to lose it.

Sincerely,

Delegate Harry Bhandari

Members of the Congressional Delegation of Maryland:

Senator Ben Cardin
Senator Chris Van Hollen
Representative Anthony Brown
Representative Andy Harris
Representative Steny Hoyer
Representative Jamie Raskin
Representative Dutch Ruppersberger
Representative John Sarbanes
Representative David Trone