WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 – A group of 27 senators called today for “significant improvements” in a bill to modernize the U.S. Postal Service.
In a to a Senate panel that oversees the Postal Service, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and 26 other senators suggested specific measures to preserve first-class and Saturday mail delivery, stop wholesale closings of rural post offices and mail processing centers, and spare many of the 220,000 jobs that the Postal Service wants to cut.
“Everyone understands that the Postal Service is in the midst of a serious financial crisis that must be addressed,” the senators wrote. “But we believe that this financial crisis can be solved in a way that does not substantially slow down the delivery of mail and harm rural America.”
The 27 senators, a majority of the Democratic caucus, said they looked forward to working with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Thomas Carper (D-Del.), who chairs a subcommittee that deals with the Postal Service.
Sanders and others said the Postal Service should be prohibited from slowing down first-class mail delivery, which would result if Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe carries out a plan to shutter 252 mail processing centers. The shutdowns would leave the Postal Service with fewer than half of the 508 mail sorting facilities that are in operation today. “If USPS becomes inconvenient and slow, many of its most loyal customers – from home delivery medication companies to newspaper publishers – will turn to private mailing options. Once those customers leave, they are most likely not coming back, and the Postal Service’s financial woes will continue to spiral,” the letter said.
The letter writers also said the Senate bill should prevent the closure of many rural post offices that are the “heart and soul” of their communities, many of them serving areas that lack Internet and cell phone service.
They want stronger language in the bill to maintain six-day mail delivery. The Postal Service should have to hold off for at least four years before it could take steps to end Saturday deliveries, and then only under very limited circumstances.
The senators also said the Postal Service should be allowed to recover more than $10 billion in overpayments in a pension fund and no longer be forced to put $5.5 billion a year into a retiree health care account that is already flush with funds.
Under a key proposal, the senators called for a Blue-Ribbon Entrepreneurial Commission to develop a new business model for the Postal Service. The committee bill would let the Postal Service offer some new services like issuing state hunting and fishing licenses, for example. The Senate bill should go farther, Sanders and the others said, by implementing innovative ideas for new services recommended by the commission of entrepreneurs, innovators, postmasters, postal workers and others.
In addition to Sanders, the letter was signed by Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) Mark Begich (D-Alaska) Mike Bennet (D-Colo.) Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) Ben Cardin (D-Md.) Robert Casey Jr., (D-Pa.) Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) Al Franken (D-Minn.) Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y) Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) Tim Johnson (D-N.D.) Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) Mary Landrieu (D-La.) Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) John Tester (D-Mont.) Mark Udall (D-Colo.) Tom Udall (N.M.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
To read the letter, click here.
We need an early out to save the postal service… $25k and add 2 years… I’m gone.
Democrats just hate the tax paying middle class, they want everyone poor or living on the dole so they can be controlled more easily. Sad.
These blood sucking politicans have no concern for anyone other furthering their own agenda and means doing whatever is necessary to gain favortism by voting blocs to create favorable ratings to get votes to preserve their political positions.
Should group have any real concern for the USPS it would be to eliminate no longer needed 6 day mail delivery, close small community post offices that have outlived theie need and reconstruct to eliminate wasted cost and create needed cost effective operations, Create means to have a breakeven point for services needed to have balance sheet that is not red with negative numbers in all catogories.
we need an early out to save the postal service… $30k and add 5 years… i’m gone.
republicans just hate the middle class and unions. sad.
Why didn’t the Democrats eliminate the retirement pre-funding law when they had a veto-proof majority in the house and senate during Obama’s first 2 years in office as President.
Answer: They were all for stealing money from the USPS. Now that they don’t have a veto-proof majority in the house and senate they make a big noise and pretend to be for the little guy again. BS.
The Republicans are not tying to privatize the Post Office. This is ridiculous. Just think about it. Who in their right mind would want the Post Office. Yeah, this is a real “Money Maker”, and I’am sure there are a lot of smart investors out there that are just waiting for the chance to take control of the Post Office!
Its time to stop talking about what congress is proposing to do, and do something about the Postal Service finanical condition. Vote the H.R. 1351 introduced by Rep. Lynch, returning the $50 billion dollars back to the Postal Service! That would be more than enough to keep the Postal Service afloat! It has already been proven that there is plenty money already in the Postal retiree pre-fund pension fund, more than any other company, public or private sector, so what is the problem! Congress need to quit taliking about what should be done and get the job done! After this is done, get rid of Donahoe, he has not done one single thing to keep the Postal Service solvent. He doesn’t care anything about the employees who are doing the real work, like the processing of mail and getting the mail delivered daily on a regular basis. Donahoe doesn’t have a clue about what’s need to be done to keep the Postal Service solvent. He’a probably getting paid off. The Republicans just want to privitize and of course turn tthe public against President Obama! That is not about to happen. If it wasn’t for our President, this country would have already went to hell in a hand basket! Its crystal clear, the GOP do not care about working americans, the elderly, disable orr the poor americans!
VOTE THEM ALL OUT…..ALL THE INCUMBENTS….NONE ARE DOING THEIR JOB TO PROTECT WORKING STIFFFS….ALL ABOUT GETTING RID OF OBAMA…
SHAME….THINK OF THE JOBS LOST….VOTE ALL OUT WHO HAVE NOT SIGNED ON TO THIS TERRIFIC BILL…
JFA
Call your senator , offer 50k incentive + 5 years services for FERS.
Republican will be against this. They de fund an agency then the agency can’t perform to the best of their abilities. Then they claim the agency is a big bureaucracy and the private sector can do it better. They are trying to do away with the EPA and NLRB the same way.
good luck fixing that big mess, offer early outs to workers and fire all of management.
to all republicans, dems, independents and postal execs. get on the same freakn page and make a decision. wtf… peoples lives are hanging in the balance. is it really gonna come down to “its an electon year and we wont hurt ourselves and possibly lose votes by making a decision on this????????” lame.. very lame.. grow a set.. and make a decision.. be adults and get on the same page.. stop your gridlock nonsense … u a holes have more bills and proposals than we can keep track of…
Somebody better do something fast, because the Captain (Donahoe)is about to drive this boat into the rocks. Just like the captain of that Italian cruise ship. Our captain will probably also jump ship as soon as we start under. The Republicans are willing to see millions of people suffer and lose their jobs just to get rid of one man. Congress holds the purse strings they will either make or break the USPS.
No Repubs because they know the PO is for commies!
donahoe’s plan to slow down first-class service will be the start of a
financial death spiral for the usps. it is something a smart first year business student could figure out. how donahoe’s assinine service slashing policies have
gotten this far is beyond me. banks, utilities, phone companies, and thousands of other businesses have marketing/ad campaigns ready to be implemented
if congress should foolishly allow donahoe to slow down mail service. these
businesses will remind the public that the usps is NOW EVEN SLOWER AND MORE UNRELIABLE AND THE TIME HAS COME FOR THEM TO PAY BILLS AND
CONDUCT OTHER BUSINESS ONLINE! the small declines in first-class mail
will suddenly become major, catastrophic declines and revenue will plumment.
suddenly, donahoes 250 processing plants will have to be slashed to 125 and
the red ink will expand faster than ole’ donahoe can cut! keep in mind that there are fixed costs that the post office has to maintain because they are required by law to deliver to every addreSs in the USA six days a week. this costs a lot of money and the only sane solution for the usps is to find a way to increase revenues and work extremely hard to provide the best customer service to retain the business that it does have. the post office will
downsize itself into oblivion and irrelevancy thanks to donahoe and his stupid plan and our pathetic congress representatives falling for donahoe’s
bullshit. i hope and pray some sanity enters into any postal legislation that is passed that prevents donahoe’s suicide slash-and-burn transformation policy. the really sad and unnerving part of this postal fiasco is how such an incompetent bureaucrat like donahoe could possibly be given the postmaster
general job? remember, donahoe was second in command under potter so his finger-prints are all over the mismanaged policies that the usps has implemented over the last five or six years and have put the usps on the brink
of collapse! donahoe’s policies/plans must be changed dramatically and he needs to be replaced by a competent proven business leader that has
“real-world” business experience and has the knowledge and work ethic to
develop a plan to GROW THE BUSINESS!
Call Your Senators:
202-224-3121
(Capitol Switchboard)
[Click here for direct #s]
Tell them you Support
S. 1789 with the amendments to preserve 6 day delivery and stop the Closing
of thosands of Post Offices nationwide.
The U.S. Senate soon will likely debate the 21st Century Postal Reform Act (S. 1789), bill offering Early Retirement Incentives.
As president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, I understand that
S. 1789 should be amended, Congress should approve this bill ,S.1789.
Fredric V. Rolando is the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers
incentives to be combined.
1. 25,000 cash.
2. 3 years added on to your FERS retirement.
3. 2 years added on to your CSRS retirement.
GOOGLE……….U.S. SENATE………Choose your “SENATOR HOME” State. Look for the area in which to write and send your comments.
S.1789 is the last hope for anyone wanting the Early Retirement Incentives.
The NALC, APWU , and Obama Support the buyouts.
Filed under: Congress, politics, postal, postal news, usps
Earlier today, President Barack Obama released his fiscal year 2013 budget proposal. The voluminous document, which is prepared by the White House Office of Management and Budget, lays out a framework for the Administration’s legislative and fiscal priorities.
This year’s White House contribution to the budget discussion offers a number of proposals that, if enacted, would effect the U.S. Postal Service and its employees. The President’s budget plan would:
Implement five-day mail delivery, beginning on January 1, 2013
Refund the estimated $11 billion surplus USPS retirement contributions in two payments, one half in FY 2012 and the other half in FY 2013
Adjust the retiree health liability to reflect the USPS’ shrinking workforce
Permit the USPS to increase postage by 1.8% to reach the 5.6% increase that it requested in 2010
Roll $14 billion of this year’s and the next two years’ scheduled FEHBP pre-funding payments into the accumulated FY 2017 retiree health liability, and amortize the total over 40 years
Increase postal and federal employee FERS and CSRS contributions by 1.2%, over the next three years
Provide extensive Early Retirement Incentives for all Postal Employees.
The White House projects that its USPS proposals would provide the USPS with $25 billion in “cash relief over the next two years and produce savings of $25 billion over 11 years.” In addition, the increase in FERS and CSRS retirement contributions would save the federal budget $27 billion over the next decade, and provide extensive Early Retirement Incentives.
It is important to note that the FY 2013 budget process is just commencing and that NAPUS will be fighting for these proposals, and S. 1789 ,whether originating in Congress or in the White House, that positively impact NAPUS members.
Why no Republicans? Maybe they will reconsider by November. The American public is finally realizing why there are limited job opportunities around. The GREEDPUBLICANS voted to steal away with all the old tax monies that were destined to be the JOB CREATION of the CRAPITALISM in America. November is fast approaching while RICK SANITARIUM,MITT ROBNEY,NEWT GIVETOTHERICH and their minions chatter about Roe v. Wade and Catholic arcane beliefs. The Democrats are the ones again trying to save America not the Caymans and Switzerland.