SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A group of protestors hold a demonstration in front of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's home in Greensboro, North Carolina on August 16, 2020. (Photo: Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images)
Top Democrat Says Postal Banking Pilot Is 'Welcome,' But DeJoy Must Still Be Fired
"The future of USPS depends on implementing postal banking," said Rep. Bill Pascrell.
Oct 04, 2021
News Monday that the U.S. Postal Service recently rolled out a pilot program in four cities allowing limited payroll and business check-cashing services was welcomed by a top Democrat who called it a "welcome start" to fuller postal banking services but stressed that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy must still be fired.
"Today would be a great day to fire the Trump appointees on the postal board of governors and then fire Louis Dejoy. They all need to be fired."
The remarks from Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), posted online by The American Prospect's David Dayen, reference the "predatory" practices by payday lenders often faced by unbanked Americans as well as the lawmaker's hope for "a new postal board and post master general."
"The future of USPS depends on implementing postal banking. Postal banking will unite rural and urban communities and crush predatory payday lenders," Pascrell said in a thread.
"One more thing," Pascrell added. "Today would be a great day to fire the Trump appointees on the postal board of governors and then fire Louis Dejoy. They all need to be fired."
Pascrell's demand--which came amid widespread sustained calls for DeJoy's ouster over conflicts of interest and a plan Democrats warned would cause a "death spiral" of the Postal Service--followed reporting Monday by the Prospect and other outlets that, starting on September 13, in USPS locations in Washington, D.C. Baltimore, Falls Church, Va., and the Bronx, customers have been able to cash checks up to $500 in exchange for a gift card. The program represents a collaboration of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) and the Postal Service.
"The well-being of the Postal Service--that the people in the country so overwhelmingly support--in the future is partly going to rest on these kind of expanded services," APWU president Mark Dimondstein told the Washington Post.
"New services will not just have the post office doing well by the people," he said, "but will bring in needed revenue."
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)--who, like Pascrell and other lawmakers including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)--has called for a pilot postal banking program, tweeted Monday that the new development "is a great first step towards creating a full postal bank."
"Families who don't have access to a bank will be able to cash paychecks without paying predatory fees," she said, "and it would generate billions to help the USPS survive and thrive."
According to Causten Rodriguez-Wollerman, deputy director at the ACLU, however, "This program is the bare minimum." The postal board, he said, must "do much more."
He noted for example that "in the United States, 59% of zip codes don't have a bank but 100% of zip codes have at least one post office."
"The USPS must launch postal banking pilots in thousands of post offices across the country to provide affordable financial solutions for all," said Rodriguez-Wollerman.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
News Monday that the U.S. Postal Service recently rolled out a pilot program in four cities allowing limited payroll and business check-cashing services was welcomed by a top Democrat who called it a "welcome start" to fuller postal banking services but stressed that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy must still be fired.
"Today would be a great day to fire the Trump appointees on the postal board of governors and then fire Louis Dejoy. They all need to be fired."
The remarks from Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), posted online by The American Prospect's David Dayen, reference the "predatory" practices by payday lenders often faced by unbanked Americans as well as the lawmaker's hope for "a new postal board and post master general."
"The future of USPS depends on implementing postal banking. Postal banking will unite rural and urban communities and crush predatory payday lenders," Pascrell said in a thread.
"One more thing," Pascrell added. "Today would be a great day to fire the Trump appointees on the postal board of governors and then fire Louis Dejoy. They all need to be fired."
Pascrell's demand--which came amid widespread sustained calls for DeJoy's ouster over conflicts of interest and a plan Democrats warned would cause a "death spiral" of the Postal Service--followed reporting Monday by the Prospect and other outlets that, starting on September 13, in USPS locations in Washington, D.C. Baltimore, Falls Church, Va., and the Bronx, customers have been able to cash checks up to $500 in exchange for a gift card. The program represents a collaboration of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) and the Postal Service.
"The well-being of the Postal Service--that the people in the country so overwhelmingly support--in the future is partly going to rest on these kind of expanded services," APWU president Mark Dimondstein told the Washington Post.
"New services will not just have the post office doing well by the people," he said, "but will bring in needed revenue."
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)--who, like Pascrell and other lawmakers including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)--has called for a pilot postal banking program, tweeted Monday that the new development "is a great first step towards creating a full postal bank."
"Families who don't have access to a bank will be able to cash paychecks without paying predatory fees," she said, "and it would generate billions to help the USPS survive and thrive."
According to Causten Rodriguez-Wollerman, deputy director at the ACLU, however, "This program is the bare minimum." The postal board, he said, must "do much more."
He noted for example that "in the United States, 59% of zip codes don't have a bank but 100% of zip codes have at least one post office."
"The USPS must launch postal banking pilots in thousands of post offices across the country to provide affordable financial solutions for all," said Rodriguez-Wollerman.
News Monday that the U.S. Postal Service recently rolled out a pilot program in four cities allowing limited payroll and business check-cashing services was welcomed by a top Democrat who called it a "welcome start" to fuller postal banking services but stressed that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy must still be fired.
"Today would be a great day to fire the Trump appointees on the postal board of governors and then fire Louis Dejoy. They all need to be fired."
The remarks from Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), posted online by The American Prospect's David Dayen, reference the "predatory" practices by payday lenders often faced by unbanked Americans as well as the lawmaker's hope for "a new postal board and post master general."
"The future of USPS depends on implementing postal banking. Postal banking will unite rural and urban communities and crush predatory payday lenders," Pascrell said in a thread.
"One more thing," Pascrell added. "Today would be a great day to fire the Trump appointees on the postal board of governors and then fire Louis Dejoy. They all need to be fired."
Pascrell's demand--which came amid widespread sustained calls for DeJoy's ouster over conflicts of interest and a plan Democrats warned would cause a "death spiral" of the Postal Service--followed reporting Monday by the Prospect and other outlets that, starting on September 13, in USPS locations in Washington, D.C. Baltimore, Falls Church, Va., and the Bronx, customers have been able to cash checks up to $500 in exchange for a gift card. The program represents a collaboration of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) and the Postal Service.
"The well-being of the Postal Service--that the people in the country so overwhelmingly support--in the future is partly going to rest on these kind of expanded services," APWU president Mark Dimondstein told the Washington Post.
"New services will not just have the post office doing well by the people," he said, "but will bring in needed revenue."
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)--who, like Pascrell and other lawmakers including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)--has called for a pilot postal banking program, tweeted Monday that the new development "is a great first step towards creating a full postal bank."
"Families who don't have access to a bank will be able to cash paychecks without paying predatory fees," she said, "and it would generate billions to help the USPS survive and thrive."
According to Causten Rodriguez-Wollerman, deputy director at the ACLU, however, "This program is the bare minimum." The postal board, he said, must "do much more."
He noted for example that "in the United States, 59% of zip codes don't have a bank but 100% of zip codes have at least one post office."
"The USPS must launch postal banking pilots in thousands of post offices across the country to provide affordable financial solutions for all," said Rodriguez-Wollerman.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.