[Sierra Sun Times] April 19, 2021 - Last week, U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and U. S. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Gillibrand Kirsten senatorBill Pascrell (D-NJ), and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) called on Congress to implement postal banking pilot programs in rural and urban communities across the country as part of the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Senate and House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations (FSGG) Appropriations Bill and eventual final conference agreement. The lawmakers also pushed for $6 million in funding for USPS in FY22 to carry out the pilot programs to expand non-bank financial services offerings.(Left) Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
"Mainstream financial institutions and predatory lenders often take advantage of underbanked Americans with high fees and interest rates that keep them in a cycle of poverty. As families across the country try to recover from the economic crisis, establishing postal banking pilot programs would ensure these communities have financially safe and reliable banking services," said Senator Gillibrand. "Expanding basic financial services at post offices in both rural and urban communities would help families who know just how expensive it is to be poor in America. This pilot program takes important steps to help struggling Americans and reintroduce widespread postal banking. I am proud to work alongside my colleagues to ensure it is included in the FSGG Appropriations Bill."