Before talks came to a standstill this month, Democrats had floated providing $10 billion for the agency over one year, compared with an original proposal of $25 billion over three years. Ms. Pelosi and her top lieutenants are considering cutting short the chamber’s summer recess to address the issues with the Postal Service. Mr. Schumer, speaking in New York on Sunday, said he planned to introduce separate legislation in the Senate that would require all election-related mail to be treated as first class, restore overtime and reinstate mail-sorting machines that had been decommissioned. Mr. Schumer said he would attach that bill to the next coronavirus stimulus measure or another piece of must-pass legislation. With lawmakers scheduled to remain scattered across the country through early September, rank-and-file Democrats have pushed leadership to return early and address what they say is a growing crisis before the election in November.

Source: New York Times August 16, 2020 17:37 UTC