Pallone To Hold Rally Outside Long Branch Post Office Tuesday

LONG BRANCH, NJ — Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ 6) will hold a press conference Tuesday outside the Long Branch Post Office on 3rd Avenue.

Rep. Pallone will be speaking from the steps of the post office to call for an end to what he says is President Trump's "sabotage of the U.S. Postal Service."

Like many Republicans, President Trump vehemently opposes mail-in voting, which in several U.S. states will be the only way to vote in the upcoming November election. The states that decided to do vote-by-mail only for the Nov. 3 election because of COVID are California, Nevada, Vermont and New Jersey. They will join Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington, which had always been vote-by-mail only.

But the outrage really started when Trump told Fox Business News last week that he's deliberately withholding $25 billion the U.S. Postal Service has requested so it can process the expected surge of mail-in ballots.

"They want $25 billion, billion, for the Post Office. Now, they need that money in order to make the Post Office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots," Trump told host Maria Bartiromo last Thursday. "They aren't getting there. But if they don't get those two items, that means you can't have universal mail-in voting, because they aren't equipped to have it."

This requested money for the post office is one of the reasons the second coronavirus stimulus package talks are stalled.

He cited examples in Paterson, NJ, New York's 14th Congressional District (Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney's district) and Virginia as all having issues with mail-in voting.

"Yesterday, Virginia, they sent out 500,000 applications for ballots. Got sent to dogs, dead people. They said, 'Oh, we made a mistake, I'm sorry," said Trump.

"There's noting wrong with getting out and voting," continued the president. "They voted during World War I and World War II ... If they don't get (the money) that means they can't have universal mail-in voting, because they are not equipped to have it."

Then on Friday, the U.S. Postal Service sent out a warning that it cannot guarantee timely delivery of mail-in ballots in 46 states, including New Jersey.

"President Trump’s appointment of Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General has led to widespread delivery delays and concerns that lifesaving medications, Social Security checks, and tax refunds will not arrive on time," said Pallone in a statement.

Pallone voted in favor of the $25 billion for the Postal Service, as did his Republican Congress mate in Monmouth and Ocean counties, Rep. Chris Smith, who also voted in favor of giving the Post Office the requested $25 billion in additional funding.

Hear Trump talk about the mail-in voting issue and him withholding the $25 billion the U.S. Post Service requested, around the 10-minute mark:

Pallone will be joined at the press conference Tuesday by state Senator Vin Gopal, Assemblywoman Joann Downey and Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling, all Democrats. The press conference begins at 2 p.m. and a live stream of the event will be available here.

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