Dear John,

We sounded the alarm recently that Donald Trump and his billionaire allies are once again going after the United States Postal Service.

But it’s not just Democrats who oppose privatizing the USPS. Republicans also back the new bipartisan resolution affirming the Postal Service’s independent, public service mission and its essential role in connecting communities across rural, urban, and suburban America.

Introduced by Republican Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Democratic Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, the resolution has the support of over 200 lawmakers, including Republican Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, as well as Democrats Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia.

Lawmakers in large, rural states with lots of land and sparse populations, such as Alaska, Michigan, and Montana, often represent remote communities that can only be reached by air or water. Republicans in other states with remote rural populations, such as Maine and North Carolina, have spoken up, too. In these states, the USPS plays a crucial role in keeping rural delivery affordable.

The Bypass Mail program, for instance, enables the USPS to serve the most remote parts of Alaska, where Republicans stand with Democrats to fight against the privatization efforts that would eliminate the service. Lawmakers of both parties agree: the USPS should stay focused on its legal requirement to deliver mail everywhere, regardless of how convenient it may be.

Republicans also express their support for the USPS’ core mission as defined in federal law: “to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people.” Most Alaskan communities are not connected by roads, and internet connection is expensive or unreliable – if it’s available at all. USPS is needed to deliver necessities like food, medicine, ballots, spare parts, store inventory, and survival supplies.

The USPS isn’t just another government agency: it’s one of the most trusted and effective public institutions in America. Guaranteed by the Constitution and built into our infrastructure, its 630,000 employees offer a lifeline to rural families, seniors, veterans, Indigenous communities, and small businesses across the country, delivering to over 168 million addresses every day.

Privatizing the USPS would cause delivery prices to spike, rural areas to be dropped, and jobs to be lost, as Trump and his Wall Street backers gut a public service for short-term private gains.

We can stop Trump’s plan, just as we have before. But Congress must hear from us if we want America to be a nation that continues to invest in this critical public good.

Urge your members of Congress to stop USPS privatization in red states as well as blue. Turning public services into private profits hurts all Americans, regardless of political views.

Thanks for urging your Senators and Representatives to stand together and keep the USPS on the job, delivering mail for all Americans.

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action