U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called Tuesday on Congress to strengthen the United States Postal Service, re-establish postal banking to provide financial security to millions of Americans and reinvigorate voting rights.
In a New York Times op-ed on Sunday, Gillibrand argued legislation, like her Postal Banking Act, is desperately needed to protect the Postal Service as it faces renewed attacks from the Trump administration, which is unwilling to provide emergency funding during the coronavirus pandemic. The Postal Banking Act would not only provide essential banking services to low-income and rural communities, but also create approximately $9B in revenue for the Postal Service and safeguard democracy by ensuring Americans across the country have access to vote by mail.
Gillibrand said the coronavirus pandemic has devastated the finances of millions of Americans. As families struggle to make ends meet, low-income households that lack access to traditional banking services – such as checking and savings accounts – have been forced to turn to predatory services such as prepaid debit cards, rent-to-own stores, and overdraft fees. Despite New York’s strong anti-predatory lending laws, before this economic disaster, almost a quarter of New Yorkers still have limited access to traditional banking services, and eight percent have no access to these services. Gillibrand’s legislation would provide low-income New Yorkers access to basic banking services and safe financial alternatives to these predatory practices.
