Location
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US
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 - 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Register to attend the League of Women Voters second "Virtual Brews & Views". Our special guest will be attorney Patrick Levine Rose who will tell us
Why we must save the US Postal Service during the pandemic.
A significant portion of the evening will be devoted to Q&A.
To join the meeting, you must register HERE to receive a unique link to the meeting. The registration form includes an opportunity to submit your advance questions to our guest.
Everybody welcome! This event is open to the public.
League members are encouraged to invite non-members to register and attend.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is facing revenue losses of $22 billion due to a sharp decline in mail volume from the Covid-19 pandemic. To avoid bankruptcy, the USPS needs $25 billion in loans and $25 billion in stimulus funds to cover a $54 billion shortfall. Congress refused to give the Post Office stimulus funds, while giving more than $4.2 trillion in loans and direct funds to corporations and businesses.
The USPS employs 600,000 Postal Workers to deliver mail and packages to 160 million addresses in America six days a week. We use USPS to send in absentee ballots and Census forms. Postal Workers deliver Covid-19 test kits and essential supplies. 90% of Veterans rely on USPS to get medications. Over 40% of Americans use USPS to pay monthly bills. FedEx, UPS and Amazon rely on the USPS for “last mile” delivery.
The USPS has not relied on any major taxpayer subsidies until the pandemic. If Congress does not fund USPS, it may not be able to operate past September. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said President Trump will veto stimulus bills for the USPS unless it raises rates and cuts costs.
We will discuss the battle in Congress on preserving essential Postal Service operations to insure fair Elections, a valid Census count, and to restore public health and economic activity.
Patrick Levine Rose is a Legal Fellow at Michigan State University’s Center for Local Government Finance & Policy. For 26 years, Mr. Rose represented municipalities, businesses and individuals in numerous appeals in the Michigan Supreme Court, the Michigan Court of Appeals, the Sixth Circuit and in the US Supreme Court.
Mr. Rose has a B.A. from Harvard University and J.D. from Georgetown University Law School. He served as a judicial law clerk to Michigan Supreme Court Justice Michael Cavanagh, 1988-1990, and for Judge Collins Seitz of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1991-92.
Mr. Rose is working on projects seeking to replace the Emergency Manager Law and to insure adequate financing for local governments in fiscal distress to ensure the availability of water and essential services.
Like all Brews & Views events, this one is free. We'd appreciate it, however, if you could help support our usual sponsors Pointless Brewery (3014 Packard Street, A2) or HOMES Brewery (2321 Jackson Avenue, A2.)
Please buy a beer or a gift card from either of these organizations. HOMES has curbside service, so you can spend your money right away there. They are two of the thousands of small businesses in Ann Arbor that desperately need our help right now. We want to make sure they're still in business when we're able to meet again! Thank you for anything you can give.
