Senate drops postal banking funding from appropriations bill

Senate appropriators dropped an ICBA-opposed legislative proposal to expand the U.S. Postal Service’s banking pilot after ICBA urged lawmakers to block the plan.

Senate Bill: The Senate Appropriations Committee’s fiscal 2023 financial services appropriation bill leaves out funding to expand the USPS banking pilot program, which offers financial services in four locations.

House Efforts: The announcement hinders congressional efforts to support the pilot after the House Appropriations Committee last month advanced a bill with $6 million to expand the USPS program.

ICBA Pushback: ICBA recently called on the House to advance amendments that would block the funding, noting the lackluster results of the current postal banking pilot should prompt policymakers to abandon these proposals.

ICBA Messages: ICBA has repeatedly pushed back against postal banking in a recent letter to Congress, LinkedIn op-ed, and three-part series of issue briefs to policymakers.