[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13064]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1210
                 DISESTABLISHMENT OF THE POSTAL SERVICE

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. Article I, section 8, clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution 
gives Congress the responsibility to establish and ensure operations of 
the postal service. Today, August 1, 2012, 234 years after the 
Constitution was ratified, Congress is presiding over the 
disestablishment of the postal service.
  Today, a manufactured default created by congressional legislation is 
pushing the postal service to the brink. Today, the postal service will 
not make a payment that it should have never had to make in the first 
place to pay for prefunding 75 years of retiree health benefits in 10 
years. A manufactured default, encouraged by banks and other interest 
groups, a move towards privatization of one of America's most vital 
services. The Congress has a responsibility to stand up. But here in 
the USA under Citizens United, everything is up for auction, including 
the postal service.
  Wake up, America. Universal service is on the line. Wake up, America, 
and stand up for the Constitution, the 575,000 postal service workers, 
and our obligation to the American people to see to it that the postal 
service is rescued from those who want to push it into default or 
privatize it for their own profit.

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