Montana legislators and officials weigh in on the USPS and Bullock's lawsuit

Gov. Steve Bullock announced Tuesday that he was filing a lawsuit against U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy over recent changes made at the United States Postal Service that Bullock argues are unlawful and have directly harmed Montanans by impeding the flow of mail.

While Sen. Jon Tester D-Mont., and Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney have supported the lawsuit, Sen. Steve Daines R-Mont., has called it a political stunt, and Rep. Greg Gianforte R-Mont., has indicated a similar opinion.

Daines is facing Bullock, a Democrat, in this year’s race for Daines’ Senate seat, and Cooney, also a Democrat, and Gianforte are facing off in the race for governor, along with Libertarian candidate Lyman Bishop.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of reports of postboxes being removed from cities around Montana by the USPS, removals which have since been ended, and which all three members of Montana’s congressional delegation, as well as Bullock and Cooney, vocally opposed.

The announcement of the lawsuit says the changes in question include eliminating overtime pay for certain postal workers, instructing carriers to leave mail behind in certain situations, decommissioning sorting machines, removing mailboxes, reducing operating hours and changing how election mail is classified and charged have delayed the mail, which it says has particularly harmful effects older Montanans people living in rural farming and ranching communities, as well as people living on tribal land.

In the announcement, Bullock said important medical prescriptions, replacement parts for farm machines, utility bills, stimulus checks, application materials, and other essential communications go through the USPS and the changes made over the last month have impeded the flow of these things for Montanans.

“Since becoming Postmaster General in June, Louis DeJoy has taken steps to undermine an institution that since this nation’s founding has defied the odds and delivered the mail,” Bullock said. “… State agencies in Montana rely on the Post Office to serve Montanans from every walk of life, Montanans rely on the Post Office for the timely delivery of essential goods and services, Montana veterans and seniors rely on the mail for the delivery of life-saving medication, and small businesses in Montana rely on the mail to remain competitive.”

The suit argues that these changes are designed to delay and obstruct the delivery of mail and harms Montanans’ ability to vote in the 2020 general election while the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

The suit also argues that the policy changes made were not done through the proper procedures.  

The announcement says Bullock is asking that the court to declare DeJoy’s Postal Service policy changes unlawful and permanently enjoin DeJoy and the Postal Service from implementing or continuing to implement the harmful actions.

The suit requests that DeJoy be immediately required to take steps to undo the changes in question.

Bullock spokesperson Marissa Perry said a court hearing on the case has been scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 22.

Daines spokesperson Miles Novak said the lawsuit addresses a non-existent problem and is motivated by a desire for attention and political gain.

“The governor of Montana used taxpayer dollars to file a lawsuit over a non-existing problem to get headlines in election year politics,” Novak said. “It’s really unfortunate that the USPS is being politicized. It’s not about politics for Sen. Daines, and he will continue working with Republicans and Democrats to ensure the USPS has the resources and funding it needs to keep mail operations working for Montana.”

Daines has voiced his support for a lawsuit that was recently filed against Bullock by the Republican National Committee and the Trump re-election campaign that argues Bullock’s recent directive allowing counties in Montana to decide whether or not to allow mail-in ballots to be used for the 2020 General Election is unconstitutional.

Bullock has responded that that lawsuit is an attempt to attack Montanans’ right to vote and is motivated by a desire for political gain.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled since at least 1824 that the 10th Amendement to the U.S. Constitution gives governors the authority to issue directives during declared emergencies to protect public health and safety.

Bullock issued an almost-identical directive allowing mail ballots in June’s primary which was not challenged.

Daines said his support for the lawsuit is based purely on the directive’s legality, not on a desire to curb mail-in voting.

Novak said Daines believes the USPS is critical for Montana, and he has been leading the fight in the Senate to ensure they have the funding and resources needed to keep operations working for Montanans, and he will continue fighting for that in a bipartisan way.

He added that Daines wants as many Montanans to vote as possible and believes it’s critical that people have enough confidence in the election process to do so — whether that’s by mail or in person.

Travis Hall, a spokesperson for Rep. Greg Gianforte R-Mont., said Gianforte is confident that the USPS can handle the mail-in ballots for the general election and now is not the time for partisan stunts or political games with USPS.

Hall said Gianforte has successfully worked to stop USPS changes that would delay Montanans’ mail delivery, and he’ll continue working to ensure Montanans get their mail on time.

Cooney announced his support for Bullock’s lawsuit, which he said addresses real problems like mailboxes being removed and not returned.

“If collection boxes are removed, sorting machines are dismantled, and mail delivery is delayed, Montanans will pay the price,” Cooney said.

“Timely mail delivery impacts all Montanans — the harmful policy changes happening at the Post Office must be stopped and reversed immediately,” he added. “Which is why I’m proud to support this lawsuit. From the 2020 Census to the delivery of essential goods and services to mail-in voting, we must make sure that the integrity of the post office is never compromised.”

He also criticized his opponent for opposing emergency funding for the USPS.

“I was appalled that Congressman Gianforte voted against emergency funding for the postal service — twice,” he said.

Hall said Gianforte has supported funding the USPS sufficiently through the CARES Act.

“USPS has funding that runs through 2021, and the CARES Act, which Gianforte supported and voted for, provided a $10 billion loan to USPS to address the impact of COVID-19 on operations,” he said. “Since we’re in the midst of a virus and economic crisis, Greg strongly believes CARES Act funding should be implemented as quickly and prudently as possible — whether it’s a loan for USPS or the $1.25 billion the federal government sent Montana, much of which still sits in Helena.”

Bullock so far has committed $1 billion of the $1.25 billion to grant and assistance programs and $408 million has been awarded, his office said this morning.

Tester has voiced his support for Bullock lawsuit and said the agency under DeJoy has not sufficiently explained the reasons behind the changes it has made or shown them to have been properly implemented.

“I support Gov. Bullock’s lawsuit because USPS hasn’t given us a shred of confidence that they are following proper procedures as they have taken steps that have delayed Montanans’ mail,” Tester said. “It’s unacceptable, and I will keep pushing for answers.”

Tester also said recent pledges by DeJoy to delay some of the proposed changes until after the 2020 election are insufficient.

“For rural America, dependable mail services aren’t just another election year issue,” Tester said. “… We need more than a pause in these harmful policy changes until after the election — we need more information about why these changes were implemented in the first place, and we need a long-term plan that ensures folks in rural communities can continue to depend on USPS for years to come, rain or shine.”