x
Breaking News
More () »

Congressman Bobby Scott criticizes Trump administration's 'sabotage' at USPS

Scott is encouraging Americans to vote early to avoid slowdowns and backlogs at the Postal Service.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — As concerns over mail delays at the United States Postal Service continue to grow, a local Congressman is hitting back at comments by the President over why he's withholding funding from the postal service.

US Rep. Bobby Scott (D, VA-03)  is encouraging people to vote early to avoid mail delays.

“I think anybody ought to be concerned about the fact that the President has acknowledged that he is willing to sabotage the United States Postal Service in order to gain an advantage in the upcoming election,” Scott said. “You ought not lose your vote by virtue of the fact that the Postal Service is caught up in a political squabble led by the President of the United States.”  

USPS has brought new meaning to the term, "snail mail." Officials there are warning about slowdowns in deliveries. The backlogs are a result of the Trump Administration cutting overtime and deliveries among other expenses. 

President Donald Trump has come under fire by Democrats after he admitted he’s withholding funding from the Postal Service because he doesn't want USPS to process an expected spike in absentee ballots. 

It's expected a record-breaking number of Americans will vote by mail this election. 

Though Trump later denied he’s trying to “sabotage” the postal service, he said he's trying to make it better. 

“Actions speak louder than words," Scott said. "He’s been removing sorting machines, he’s been removing mailboxes, he’s been putting limitations on overtime, he’s been putting limitations on trips.”

Scott is encouraging people to avoid mail delays by voting early in person, ahead of November 3.

“For 45 days you can vote by absentee ballot in person – most states call it early voting," he explained. "Go vote and be finished with it. People know how they’re going to vote. There’s no need to wait.”

There’s another option if you’re worried about your ballot arriving in time. In addition to early voting, you can also hand-deliver your absentee ballot to your local board of elections before polls close on election day. 

Scott spoke to the media after a well-timed visit to the Newport News main post office on Tuesday morning. He said he wanted to get a first-hand look at operations.

“Some of the things the President has said about sabotaging the post office in order to slow up the mail, to enhance his chances of being re-elected are just reprehensible," Scott said. "And we need to make sure that the national problems don’t filter down to the local.”

He said he didn’t see any major issues on his tour of the post office.

“Many of the things that were going on nationally -- limitation on overtime, number of trips, removal of sorting machines, removal of mailboxes -- have been going on nationally but we’re delighted to see it’s not going on locally,” he said.

Scott will join other House members this weekend in voting on a multi-billion dollar funding package for the Postal Service.

Before You Leave, Check This Out