WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has directly responded to a claim made by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) that he is 'hastening the demise' of the U.S. Postal Service.
In an exclusive WUSA9 report, Connolly alleged Trump personally intervened in negotiations of the CAREs Act stimulus bill between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate leadership.
Connolly claimed Trump demanded the removal of $25 billion for the Postal Service.
Connolly claims without that money, USPS will run out of funds by summer.
The President responded to a question posed by WUSA9 anchor Adam Longo by proxy via White House pool reporter and Hearst Newspaper reporter Emilie Munson.
"I'll tell you who's the demise of the Postal Service are these internet companies that give their stuff to the Postal Service," the President said. "They (USPS) lose money every time they deliver a package."
That statement from the President isn't true, according to the Package Coalition, a lobbying group advocating for small, medium and large businesses which include Amazon, HSN and QVC.
"The Postal Service is required by law to ensure that the prices for its package delivery services cover their costs," the Package Coalition spokesman said in an email statement to WUSA9. "The Postal Service’s independent federal, the Postal Regulatory Commission (“PRC”) ensures that this requirement is met."
Read the latest annual report from the Postal Regulatory Commission about Postal Service rates and performance here.
"If they'd raise the prices by actually a lot then you'd find out that the Post Office could make money or break even. But they don't do that and I'm trying to figure out why," said President Trump.
Congressman Connolly, along with several others including the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), wrote a letter urging House and Senate leaders to include $25 billion in assistance for the Postal Service, among other requests.
The CAREs Act allows the Postal Service to borrow up to $10 billion from the U.S. Treasury to cover its costs. Connolly's letter calls that amount, "insufficient o ensure that the Postal Service can continue to operate."
The letter indicates that without additional funding, USPS would only be able to operate through the end of the summer. USPS is forecasting a 50% reduction in mail volume between now and September 30.
The Postal Service provided WUSA9 a statement for the previous story reported about the financial crisis facing USPS.
A spokesperson wrote to WUSA9 in an email that, "the Postal Service remains concerned that this measure (the CAREs Act) will be insufficient to enable the Postal Service to withstand the significant downturn in our business that could directly result from the pandemic. Under a worst-case scenario, such downturn could result in the Postal Service having insufficient liquidity to continue operations."