NAPS: Senate May Consider Postal Reform Bill Feb. 6
Filed under: NAPS, politics, postal, postal news, postal reform
From the National Association of Postal Supervisors
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Postal reform legislation is likely to be considered on the Senate floor very soon, possibly as early as February 6. NAPS is concerned that the bill approved by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (S. 1789) is defective in critical ways. Important changes are needed before the Senate passes postal reform legislation.
Alert your Senators and urge passage of legislation that preserves postal service to all Americans and builds a base for a more profitable operation. The Senate can restore the Postal Service to profitability by fixing the defects in the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act and kick-starting new growth initiatives.
Take Action. Contact your Senators today by clicking on the “Take Action” link. Take Action!
NAPUS: Senate Postpones Consideration of Postal Bill
Filed under: NAPUS, postal, postal news, postal reform, usps
On Thursday, January 26, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the Senate would take up the “Stock Act,” rather than postal reform legislation during the week of January 30. The Stock Act bans insider trading by Members of Congress. In his State of the Union Address, President Obama indicated that he would promptly sign into law the Stock Act, when passed.
At this point, there is some uncertainty about scheduling Senate consideration of S. 1789, although the Senate Leadership, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman, and Ranking GOP Member Susan Collins would like to begin consideration during the week of February 6. A number of speed-bumps confront floor action: the Committee has yet to file its report on the bill; the Congressional Budget Office calculated a significant cost associated with bill; and there are number of controversial provisions in the bill that are generating strong opposition.
via NAPUS.
Congressional Budget Office Analysis of Senate postal reform bill
SUMMARY
S. 1789 would change the laws that govern the operation of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Major provisions of the bill would:
Transfer more than $11 billion in surplus retirement contributions from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF) to the Postal Service Fund;
Change the payments that the Postal Service is required to make to the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund (PSRHBF);
Permit the Postal Service to reduce mail delivery from six days per week to five;
Authorize the Postal Service to offer employees credit for additional years of service as an incentive to retire; and
Reduce payments to most federal workers receiving benefits under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) and reform the administration of that act. In addition, other provisions of S. 1789 would aim to help the Postal Service reduce its costs and increase its revenues. Read more
NAPUS: Senate Poised to Consider Postal Bill
From the National Association of Postmasters of the US (NAPUS)
It appears likely that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will call up S. 1789, the Lieberman-Collins-Carper Brown postal relief bill sometime next week. The only bills that could have supplanted the postal bill’s primacy were bills relating to internet security and reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The internet piracy bill was pulled from the Senate calendar late last week, and there is an agreement on temporary FAA funding. Read more
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson Supports PRC Report On USPS PO Closures
Filed under: Congress, post office closings, postal, postal news, postal reform, usps
Washington, DC – (Thursday, January 5, 2012) –Today, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson acknowledged her support for the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) Report on the Postal Service’s Retail Access Optimization Initiative (RAOI). The report outlined significant miscalculations in the USPS’s methodology for indentifying over 3,600 post offices and other retail branches for possible closure.
The Dallas Processing and Distribution Center and four retail branches in the 30th Congressional District are being considered for closure or relocation under the existing RAOI. Several smaller branches in the District have already closed or have been consolidated.
“These recent findings by the Commission align with my initial criticisms,” said Congresswoman Johnson. “Aside from the obvious job implications for tens of thousands of hard-working Americans, this attempt to reduce costs would only drastically cut services for businesses and individuals that rely heavily on the Postal Service, but not actually resolve the agency’s problem of avoiding insolvency.”
Congresswoman Johnson has met with USPS leadership in Dallas and Washington, DC since 2009 to avert any postal closures in the 30th Congressional District. Citing the same concerns as the PRC panel, Congresswoman Johnson has been vocal in her opposition to the method which the post offices were being selected. The USPS has since announced a moratorium on any post office closures until May 15, 2012.
The full report on the Postal Regulatory Commission can be found here:
http://www.prc.gov/Docs/78/78971/N2011-1_AdvisoryOP.pdf
Senators Lieberman, Collins, Carper, and Brown React to USPS Losses
Filed under: politics, postal, postal news, postal reform, press releases, usps
WASHINGTON – Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn), Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-Maine), Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.), and Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) reacted Tuesday to an announcement from the Postal Service that it lost $5.1 billion in Fiscal Year 2011. The loss would have been $10 billion without emergency Congressional intervention.
Sen. Lieberman: “This is yet more confirmation of what we already know: the Postal Service is in such deep financial trouble that mail delivery would be disrupted sometime next year unless bold action is taken. Senators Collins, Carper, Brown, and I have proposed bold reforms in our 21st Century Postal Service Act, which was approved by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week. I urge my colleagues to support our bill as a last ditch effort to save this valuable national asset upon which millions of people and businesses rely every day.”
Sen. Collins: “It’s no surprise the red ink continues to flood the U.S. Postal Service. Absent action, it won’t be able to meet its payroll a year from now. The Postal Service is the linchpin of a $1.1 trillion mailing and mail-related industry that employs approximately 8.7 million Americans in fields as diverse as direct mail, printing, catalog companies, and paper manufacturing. It literally won’t survive without legislative and administrative reforms. That’s why the bipartisan bill passed by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee represents a huge step forward toward giving the Postal Service the authority it needs to restructure, modernize, survive, and thrive. I’m hopeful that this bipartisan compromise legislation will move swiftly through the Senate.”
Sen. Carper: “I have been saying for some time now that Congress needs to come together on a plan that can save the Postal Service and protect the more than eight million jobs that rely on it. Last week, we took an important step in our effort to reform the Postal Service by passing the bipartisan 21st Century Postal Service Act (S.1789) out of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Today’s report again underscores the urgency of this situation. But while the situation is dire, it is not hopeless. That is why we need to pass this bipartisan and comprehensive bill – the only bipartisan proposal from Members in either Chamber – as soon as possible. It is my hope that Congress and the Administration can come together on this plan in order to save the Postal Service before it’s too late.”
Sen. Brown: “Combined with losses from previous years, it is clear that the Postal Service faces a significant risk of being insolvent by next year. Congress will need to act soon to address some of the major financial challenges the Postal Service is facing. The 21st Century Postal Service Act is ready to head to the floor and it’s my hope that it will be called up as soon as possible, so that we can begin to put the Postal Service on a path towards financial solvency.”
Senators Urge Senate Leadership to Consider Rural Communities in Postal Service Reforms
Filed under: postal, postal news, postal reform, press releases, usps
From the Office of Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO):
November 7, 2011
Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, along with Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Kent Conrad (D-ND), are urging Senate committee leaders to consider Western states and rural communities when exploring potential reforms to the U.S. Postal Service.
“We think a long-term viable postal service must be placed on a secure financial trajectory while protecting the important role that USPS plays in rural America,” the senators wrote in the letter to the leaders of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the subcommittee dealing with the Postal Service. Read more
Postal Legislation: Short-Term Relief, Long-Term Damage
Filed under: APWU, politics, postal, postal news, postal reform, usps
The 21st Century Postal Service Act, introduced by four senators on Nov. 2, provides short-term financial relief, but also would inflict long-term damage to the nation’s mail system, President Cliff Guffey said.
“The bill will force the USPS to dismantle its network and impose severe cuts in service to the American people. This will drive away customers and weaken the Postal Service,” he said.
“By failing to provide more substantial financial relief, S. 1789 will harm the USPS and its customers,” the union president said. Although the bill would return overpayments the USPS made to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), it would not return overpayments to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Two independent actuarial studies concluded that the USPS has overpaid the CSRS account by $50 billion to $75 billion, but that conclusion is in dispute. Read more
NALC opposes end of Saturday and door-to-door mail delivery In Postal Reform Bill
Filed under: mail delivery, NALC, postal, postal news, postal reform, press releases, usps
NALC responds to the Senate postal proposal,
21st Century Postal Service Act; supports comprehensive reform but opposes the end of Saturday mail delivery and the phase-out of door delivery
Statement by Fredric V. Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, on the proposed 21st Century Postal Service Act:
Although the National Association of Letter Carriers acknowledges a number of positive provisions in the bipartisan postal reform bill unveiled today by Senators Lieberman, Collins, Carper and Brown, we are very disappointed with the overall thrust of the legislation. It seems to embrace the view that we must drastically downsize the Postal Service in order to save it.
While NALC fully supports comprehensive postal reform and is working on practical alternatives, the Senate bill could end Saturday delivery in two years and would phase out most door-to-door delivery by 2015. This would negatively affect tens of millions of Americans – particularly senior citizens, rural residents and small-business owners – who depend on the Postal Service’s commitment to high-quality service.
We acknowledge the need to reinvent the U.S. Postal Service for the 21st century, but we urge postal management and our country’s leaders to do it in a way that preserves jobs and encourages growth at a time when the economy is struggling. Saturday delivery is essential to the Postal Service’s ability to profit from the rising number of deliveries of items ordered online by consumers.
Slashing service and inconveniencing customers will only drive more business away and will do serious damage to the $1.3 trillion mailing industry and its 7.5 million private-sector workers.
Video: Senator Collins Introduces 21st Century Postal Service Act
Senator Collins Introduces Plan to Stabilize U.S. Postal Service