U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today signaled strong approval of a deal struck between the United States and other nations that will keep America in the Universal Postal Union (UPU) which helps maintain low postal rates between nations.

“I am very pleased the United States has reached a deal to remain a member of the Universal Postal Union. This deal ensures American manufacturers, businesses, and consumers do not face skyrocketing costs or needless disruption in sending and receiving mail abroad. Leaving the UPU, as the Trump administration had threatened for nearly a year, would have caused needless chaos for our postal service and for millions of Americans who rely on international mail. If this administration is genuinely concerned about ensuring long term stability for our USPS they should focus their efforts on postal modernization and repealing the crushing mandate to prefund pension obligations nearly 75 years in advance. I stand eager to work with them on any postal reform that will keep the USPS an integral part of our nation into the next century.”

Rep. Pascrell has been a leader in Congress demanding reform to return the USPS to its former glory and strengthen it so it remains an integral part of American life, goals he outlined in a well-received April 2019 essay in Washington Monthly. Pascrell is a cosponsor of H.R. 2382, the USPS Fairness Act that would finally remove the health care prefunding anchor that has been strangling USPS since 2007. Pascrell is also a strong supporter of widespread postal banking, and in June 2019 his bipartisan amendment allocating $1 million to begin funding a postal banking system was passed by the House of Representatives.