TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Los trabajadores del U.S. Postal Service (Servicio Postal de los Estados Unidos) de Florida manifiestan preocupación sobre cambios operativos innecesarios que se están dando, y que se convierten en retrasos significativos en la entrega del correo.

Les preocupa que esas irregularidades y las directrices del Director General de Correos ("Postmaster General") Louis DeJoy afecten para siempre la reputación de la agencia más confiable del país.

Las Uniones que representan a los trabajadores postales de Florida hacen un llamado al director general de Correos solicitándole que revierta permanentemente los cambios que han causado retrasos en el correo, y hacen un llamado al Congreso para que apoye igual que apoya a las corporaciones.

Wanda Harris, presidenta del Área Local 172 de la Unión Americana de Trabajadores de Correos en Miami (Miami Area Local 172, American Postal Workers Union). Afirma que trata de explicar que los cambios están fuera de su control, pero eso no detiene las fuertes protestas de los veteranos y propietarios de pequeñas empresas que son abandonados en el limbo.

"La gente mayor no puede ni recibir sus cheques a tiempo, dependen de un ingreso fijo que les llega los días primero, el tres y el cinco. Ahora tienen que esperar sus cheques. Eso es suficiente para hacerles sentir que su vida ya terminó, no es justo."

El Director General de Correos, Louis DeJoy, anunció que revertirá la reducción del equipo y las horas de oficina, y quitará las cajas de correo hasta después de la elección de noviembre. El sábado el U.S. House aprobó la "Ley Entregando por América" (Delivering for America Act), la que aporta 25 billones de dólares en fondos adicionales para la agencia, y elimina los cambios recientes que implementó DeJoy. Ahora la ley va rumbo al Senado, de mayoría Republicana.

Al Friendman, de la Asociación de Portadores de Cartas del Estado de Florida (Florida State Association of Letter Carriers") dice que durante ya demasiado tiempo la agencia más confiable del país ha sido pasada por alto por sufrir los mismos problemas que los negocios y las corporaciones golpeadas por factores como la pandemia.

"¿Por qué dimos un paquete de estímulos a American Airlines, Delta, United, Southwest, porque la reducción de ingresos y el esfuerzo por mantener empleados a sus trabajadores, ¿verdad? ¿Y qué tiene eso de diferente con el servicio postal? Estamos perdiendo entre tres y cuatro millones de dólares diarios por todo el tiempo extra forzado."

El líder de la mayoría en el senado, Mitch McConnell, dijo a los reporteros que el Senado muy posiblemente no pasaría una iniciativa (bill) que sólo cubre al Servicio Postal. En vez de eso, los Republicanos en el Senado planean introducir un "pequeño" estímulo de paquete por coronavirus que podría incluir $10 millones asignados al USPS, y $300 en beneficios semanales por desempleo.

Los trabajadores sindicalizados dicen que eso no es suficiente para una solución de largo plazo y restaurar la calma a una agencia que alguna vez fue reconocida por confiable.

The long-delayed Farm Bill could benefit Virginia farmers by renewing funding for climate-smart investments, but it's been held up for months in Congress.

Some lawmakers want this bill to expand funding for such programs as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP, which gives financial and technical help to farmers and ranchers to make conservation a priority. About $250 million was allocated for the program, but more than 9,000 applications were submitted, bringing it to $475 million.

Gabrielle Walton, federal campaign associate with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said these programs' popularity proves their necessity.

"This money allows them not only to practice more efficiently - and to preserve the environment that they love so much and they're so attached to - but it also saves them money that they can devote to other concerns," she said, "and provides them stability for their pocketbooks going forward."

One issue with the new Farm Bill is a proposed increase in so-called "reference pricing," which critics have said only benefits large farming operations and would come at the expense of more widely used social and climate-smart programs.

Walton said she thinks political divisiveness and competing priorities have held up the new Farm Bill.

The previous Farm Bill was extended to this September, but lawmakers have said they aim to have a bill ready by Memorial Day. Along with climate-smart investments, the Farm Bill also funds social safety-net programs.

Geoff Horsfield, a policy director at the Environmental Working Group, said people don't always know how helpful nutrition programs are to families.

"There's a misconception that things like SNAP only benefit urban communities," he said, "and we just know that that's not true - that folks in all counties rely on nutrition assistance programs, some of these social programs, to be able to make ends meet."

SNAP and other nutrition programs received 75% of funding in the 2018 Farm Bill. More than 876,000 Virginians use SNAP and EBT benefits, since food insecurity has been a longstanding issue in the state.

Today, groups working with lower-income families in Connecticut are raising awareness about the state's "benefits cliff" with a day of action.

The benefits cliff is when a person might get a raise, have a kid with a part-time job, or some other income increase which then makes them ineligible for certain benefits. The changes can have severe impacts on communities and disproportionately affect families with children.

Stephen Monroe Tomczak, professor of social work at Southern Connecticut State University, said it is part of a larger workforce problem.

"People, particularly people of low income, are in a sense disincentivized to participate in the labor force and denied adequate jobs and income when they try to do that," Tomczak explained.

Several General Assembly budget bills could have dealt with the issue but most failed, which inspired today's action, a mock funeral procession to the governor's office to eulogize the bills, including the refundable Child Tax Credit, a housing voucher funding boost bill, and a bill eliminating the asset limit on the HUSKY C medical insurance program.

Social service advocates know the bills will resurface in next year's budget process.

Rose Ferraro, program lead of health justice policy advocacy for the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, said people are taking alternate steps like going to food banks or avoiding medical care to cover lost benefits.

"Folks will lose their rental assistance and then, they will sort of have to make some tough decisions," Ferraro noted. "'Do I put food on my table or do I make sure to pay rent?' And, so it becomes a sort of untenable position."

Ferraro added interwoven state and federal funding makes it hard to reach the core of the issues leading to benefits cliffs. One eulogized bill would have established a benefits cliff pilot program. For two years, it would have provided subsistence for people who've reached the benefits cliff.

New York towns are reaping many benefits since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed.

Along with funds for larger clean energy projects, the state was awarded $158 million for the IRA's Home Energy Rebates program.

Smaller towns and villages use these grants to implement their climate action plans.

Brighton Town Councilmember Robin Wilt said an IRA grant they applied for will help upgrade the town's HVAC system.

"We will be implementing geothermal and then use a solar array to make the system close to net zero, not quite," said Wilt. "I think we'll get 55% of our energy back with the solar panels."

The bureaucratic process to access the funding was challenging, but some groups are working with the Department of Energy to improve it.

Wilt said feedback on the clean energy projects has been positive. Future projects using IRA funding include increasing walkability and sustainable redevelopment.

Critics have said the IRA includes multiple provisions to increase fossil fuel production.

Towns nationwide are using IRA grants to bolster clean energy projects.

Joel Hicks is a council member for the Borough of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

They've just applied for a grant to work on energy efficiency and solar projects with Harrisburg. He said this will have positive impacts beyond establishing clean energy.

"We were really excited at this potential," said Hicks, "because we saw that the cost savings we would have for putting in substantial solar projects on our public property would actually fund many of our other public municipal goals."

These include purchasing an electric vehicle fleet and having more efficient solid waste programs.

One thing Hicks said he wants to see in future is state and local governments helping small towns and municipalities with putting together their IRA grant proposals.