OMB Responds to Rural Letter Carriers Petition To Save 6 Day Delivery
Official Office of Management and Budget Response to Preserve 6 Day Mail Delivery
A Balanced Approach to Reforming the Postal Service
Thank you for signing a petition about the U.S. Postal Service. We appreciate your participation in the We the People platform on WhiteHouse.gov and your concerns about the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in a challenging economy. The Postal Service is vital to the Nation’s commerce and communications, which is why we must act quickly to make the changes necessary to ensure its viability for years to come.
Postal volumes have dropped precipitously in recent years due to longer-run shifts in communication technologies and other economic factors. As a result, USPS accrued losses of $8.5 billion in 2010, and faced financial insolvency on September 30th. Without reform it is forecast to sustain greater losses this year and next.
However, the Postal Service needs more than just short term financial relief at this time; it needs a comprehensive plan for reform to ensure that it can be flexible and competitive in a changing marketplace. There are multiple ways to provide relief and reform, but the Administration’s proposal in The President’s Plan for Economic Growth and Job Creation [PDF] represents a balanced approach for postal workers, USPS, consumers, and taxpayers.
More specifically, the proposal includes a set of near-term financial relief measures that will provide the Postal Service with the time necessary to restructure its operations and take advantage of flexibilities in the proposal, such as the ability to cooperate with state and local governments and modest pricing flexibility.
In the longer term, we are proposing to help the Postal Service reduce its excessive operating costs by providing the flexibility to gradually move to 5-day delivery, beginning in 2013. Under USPS’ plan for how it would use this authority, post offices would still remain open on Saturdays, Express Mail deliveries would still be made 7 days a week, post office box deliveries would still be made on Saturdays, and USPS would continue to make Saturday deliveries in the busy weeks leading up to the winter Holidays. These and other cost structuring actions will ensure that the Postal Service remains viable for the medium- and longer-term.
We believe USPS’ financial situation demands such reforms and the Administration’s package includes provisions to reduce the impact for USPS workers and customers. We share petitioners’ concern for the health and viability of the USPS and developed this plan with the best interest of this vital institution in mind.
As we work to get our Nation back on a sustainable fiscal path, the Administration is making tough choices across the Federal government and asking everyone to do their fair share. These shared sacrifices are not easy, but together with investments in our economic growth and job creation [PDF], they will make us stronger and more competitive for the future.
Dana Hyde is Associate Director for General Government Programs, Office of Management and Budget
PostCom: White House pressuring Congress to insert postal legislation into Super Committee package
Filed under: Congress, politics, postal, postal news, usps, white house
From Postcom
“Word has it that the authorizers in both the Senate and the House are under pressure from the White House – and even from elements of their own Leaderships – to provide a package of postal legislation that can be inserted into the Super Committee package that is now being negotiated – including the President’s proposal to enact the exigency rate increase”
PostCom: Postal News and Information from Around the World
Issa on President’s Proposed Bailout for Postal Service: “Not what taxpayers or the Postal Service needs”
Filed under: Congress, politics, postal, postal news, postal reform, press releases, usps, white house
WASHINGTON- In response to a proposal outlined by President Obama on the United States Postal Service, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which oversees the Postal Service, issued the following statement:
“The President’s proposal is not what taxpayers or the Postal Service needs. The President’s plan to achieve savings for the Postal Service does so by sticking taxpayers with the tab. Rather than backing an effort to seek fundamental reform, the accounting gimmicks used in the plan are a thinly veiled attempt to offset continued operating losses with a taxpayer funded bailout. The Oversight Committee will move forward and consider a separate proposal Wednesday, the Postal Reform Act, that will produce at least $10.7 billion annually in savings for the Postal Service and doesn’t stick taxpayers with the bill,” Issa said. Read more
Senate Will Weigh Proposals To Save USPS After White House Submits Its Own
Filed under: politics, postal, postal reform, usps, white house
TWO SENATE BILLS, USPS PROPOSALS CONFLICT
WASHINGTON – Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Federal Financial Management Subcommittee Chairman Tom Carper, D-Del., Tuesday praised Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe for offering a bold plan that attempts to stave off the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) imminent bankruptcy. But they did not endorse all of his proposals. Read more
Federal-Postal Employees Coalition Urge Obama To Reject Proposals Damaging To Workforce
Filed under: politics, postal, postal news, retirement, white house
A coalition of federal and postal employee organizations wrote a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to reject proposals aimed at the federal workforce. The groups major concern is the proposal to require federal employees to contribute a much higher share towards their retirement annuity which in effect is a pay cut. Read more
Obama: All new federal light duty vehicles must be alternative fueled by 2015
Filed under: postal, postal news, press releases, usps, white house
Presidential Memorandum–Federal Fleet Performance
The Federal Government operates the largest fleet of light duty vehicles in America. We owe a responsibility to American citizens to lead by example and contribute to meeting our national goals of reducing oil imports by one-third by 2025 and putting one million advanced vehicles on the road by 2015.
Living up to that responsibility means the Federal fleet should operate only as many vehicles as needed to work efficiently, leveraging Federal purchasing dollars to build manufacturing capacity for more alternative fueled vehicles, and reducing petroleum consumption through efficiency and alternative fuels.
In Executive Order 13514 of October 5, 2009, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, my Administration set a goal of reducing petroleum use in the Federal fleet. In order to provide guidance to executive departments and agencies (agencies) to help achieve my Administration’s Federal fleet performance goals, and to ensure that agencies are in compliance with Executive Order 13514, I hereby direct the following:
Section 1. Vehicle Technologies. (a) By December 31, 2015, all new light duty vehicles leased or purchased by agencies must be alternative fueled vehicles, such as hybrid or electric, compressed natural gas, or biofuel. Moreover, agency alternative fueled vehicles must, as soon as practicable, be located in proximity to fueling stations with available alternative fuels, and be operated on the alternative fuel for which the vehicle is designed. Where practicable, agencies should encourage development of commercial infrastructure for alternative fuel or provide flex fuel and alternative fuel pumps and charging stations at Federal fueling sites.
(b) Pursuant to motor vehicle management regulations, set forth at 41 C.F.R. 102-34.50, executive fleets are required to achieve maximum fuel efficiency; be limited in motor vehicle body size, engine size, and optional equipment to what is essential to meet agency mission; and be midsize or smaller sedans, except where larger sedans are essential to the agency mission. Within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, any executive fleet vehicles that are larger than a midsize sedan or do not comply with alternative fueled vehicle requirements must be disclosed on agency websites.
(c) The Department of Energy shall assist the United States Postal Service (USPS) in evaluating the best alternative fuel technologies for the USPS fleet.
Sec. 2. Optimum Fleet Size. Within 90 days of the date of this memorandum, the General Services Administration (GSA) shall develop and distribute to agencies a Vehicle Allocation Methodology (VAM) for determining the optimum inventory with emphasis placed on eliminating unnecessary or non-essential vehicles from an agency’s fleet inventory and ensuring lifecycle cost-effectiveness of maintaining such inventory. In addition, the VAM shall address composition for agencies’ light duty fleets based on their missions. In doing so, the GSA shall consider existing Federal VAMs as appropriate. The VAM shall assist agencies in selecting vehicle options based on lifecycle cost analysis, including projected fuel costs, warranty, operations, mileage, maintenance, and disposal.
Sec. 3. Fleet Management. (a) Within 180 days of the GSA’s dissemination of the VAM referenced in section 2 of this memorandum, agencies shall determine their optimal fleet inventory using the VAM, and shall post their optimal fleet inventory targets on agency websites. At the same time, agencies shall submit to the Administrator of General Services (Administrator) fleet management plans to achieve these targets no later than December 31, 2015.
(b) Within 30 days of receiving agency fleet management plans, the Administrator shall submit a summary of the plans to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and to the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality.
(c) Within 90 days of receiving agency fleet management plans, the Administrator shall provide each agency and military service with recommendations for the acquisition of alternative fueled vehicles to implement fleet optimization plans, including shared fleet-on-demand services where applicable.
(d) Agencies shall incorporate new fleet management plans into their Annual Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans prepared in furtherance of Executive Order 13514, beginning with their June 2012 plan submission.
Sec. 4. Applicability. (a) With respect to law enforcement and emergency vehicles, the GSA shall, within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, and in coordination with the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and the Treasury, and other appropriate agencies, issue guidance to agencies on the applicability and implementation of alternative fueled vehicle requirements.
(b) Consistent with the guidance developed in section 4(a) of this memorandum, the head of an agency may exempt vehicles used for law enforcement, protective, emergency response, or military tactical operations of that agency from the provisions of this memorandum.
(c) This memorandum shall apply to the activities, personnel, resources, and facilities of each agency that are located within the United States. The head of an agency may apply this memorandum to activities, personnel, resources, and facilities
of the agency that are not located within the United States, to the extent the head of the agency determines that doing so is in the interest of the United States.
Sec. 5. Definitions. (a) “Alternative fueled vehicle” means an alternative fuel vehicle as defined by Executive Order 13514 and an alternative fueled vehicle as defined by 42 U.S.C. 13211(3), including a “new qualified fuel cell motor vehicle” as defined in 26 U.S.C. 30B(b)(3) and a “new qualified hybrid motor vehicle” as defined in 26 U.S.C. 30B(d)(3).
(b) “Agency” means an agency as defined in Executive Order 13514.
(c) “United States” means the fifty States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and associated territorial waters and airspace.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law, including international trade obligations, and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(b) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(1) authority granted by law to a department, agency, or the head thereof; or
(2) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
BARACK OBAMA
Office of Press Secretary
Video: APWU Members Demonstrate At White House
A protest on March 7th 2011 at the White House ‘Regarding the Protection of the United States Postal Service’ organized by active and retired APWU rank and file membership.
In response to APWU President Guffey’s call for help, Rank and File Members of the American Postal Workers Union demonstrated in front of the White House about CSRS and FERS Pension and Health benefits over funding. Correction of the funding formula and return of overpayments ($75 Billion+) would help to make the USPS fiscally sound, saving jobs and mail service. The USPS is not supported or funded by taxes and the current Obama administration proposes, as part of their overall budget package, “relief” for the USPS by taxpayer dollars.
The rally was also in support of the public sector unions who recently came under assault by politicians concerning their collective bargaining rights.
National Association of Postal Supervisors Applauds Administration’s Budget Proposal
Filed under: NAPS, postal, postal news, press releases, usps, white house
The National Association of Postal Supervisors welcomed the news that the Obama administration’s FY 2012 budget proposal addresses some of the concerns of the financially struggling Postal Service. President Louis Atkins noted that the budget proposal addresses the requirement that the Postal Service pre-fund future postal retiree’s health benefits but does so with a much more reasonable payment plan.
Atkins believes that, “A viable Postal Service is critical to the entire infrastructure of commerce in the United States. A resolve that would place the Postal Service on sounder financial footing is something that all parties should endorse”.
“Our organization will be working closely with the leadership in the Congress to bring about legislation that will work for both the Postal Service and the American people,” Atkins added. NAPS has been in the forefront of providing information to the Congress about the necessity of maintaining six-day delivery and is heartened that the Obama administration saw fit to include this provision in the language of their proposed budget for FY 2012.
NAPS believes that the Postal Service cannot return to prosperity without the assistance of the Congress and support for the Administration’s budget proposals, or other alternatives that would relieve the budgetary problems. Without that assistance the Postal Service is left to do the only thing that it can do, cut service, eliminate jobs and close post offices.
At a time when the country is trying to get people back to work, it is also a good time for the Congress to help revamp the Postal Service in order to maintain the middle-class jobs that the Postal Service currently provides to its’ employees. This is not a time to be reducing public service jobs that are vital to both the commerce of the country and its’ citizens.
The Postal Service is also the largest employer of veterans in the country. At a time that many veterans are returning from active duty, the Postal Service should be an employer of choice for our returning veterans in need of a job. But, due to the budgetary problems, the Postal Service is not hiring and many positions that need to be filled remain vacant resulting in excessive overtime in some areas.
NALC: Proposed budget preserves six-day mail delivery and offers postal relief
The U.S. Postal Service received some good news from the Obama administration Feb. 14 when the White House released its proposed budget for the 2012 fiscal year.
“By proposing significant short-term financial help for the Postal Service in his budget, President Obama clearly stands with the NALC and our goal of getting the Service back on the right financial track,” NALC President Fredric V. Rolando said. “But we all need to keep one thing in mind—that this budget proposal is just that: a proposal.
“With a divided Congress, there’s little doubt that we face an uphill fight for real pre-funding reform,” he said. “But we believe that a strong Postal Service is a bipartisan policy.”
Obama’s proposed budget still calls for pre-funding future postal retiree health benefits as mandated by the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, but on a more reasonable payment schedule. It also calls for reducing the Postal Service’s overall pre-funding payment obligation for the 2011 fiscal year by $4 billion.
“These steps to provide USPS with the breathing room necessary to continue restructuring its operations without severe disruptions must be coupled with meaningful reforms to its business model to make USPS viable for the medium and long term,” the budget reads.
Another promising part of the 2012 budget proposal is the inclusion of a provision directing the Office of Personnel Management to refund the almost $7 billion surplus in the Postal Service’s Federal Employees Retirement System account over the next 30 years, beginning with a $550 million payment this year. While the NALC welcomes the administration’s recognition that the FERS surplus should be returned to the USPS, we believe this policy should be applied to the much bigger CSRS surplus (estimated to be between $55 billion and $75 billion) and that the funds should be returned much more quickly so that they can be used to cover the cost of the pre-funding payments.
Meanwhile, in a clear victory for letter carrier activism over the past year, the language preserving six-day delivery has once again been included in appropriations bills brought before Congress. In setting the amount for “revenue forgone” to cover the costs of free and reduced rate mail, the 2012 spending plan says payments will be made “provided that 6-day delivery and rural delivery of mail shall continue at not less than the 1983 level.”
“We continue to hit hard the message that six-day mail delivery is good for America, and our representatives are hearing us,” President Rolando said. “But real letter carrier activists understand that these kinds of victories are temporary, and that we need to keep spreading the six-day message for as long as the Postal Service presses for short-sighted service cuts.”
The president’s budget also addresses reforms of the Federal Employee Compensation Act and calls for eliminating small annual payments to the Postal Service for past revenue forgone appropriations that were not paid to cover the cost of fee mail to the blind. NALC is studying the administration’s FECA proposal and will report full details in the days and weeks ahead, and we will oppose the cut in revenue forgone payments.
source: National Association Of Letter Carriers
White House Budget Outlines Repayment To USPS For FERS Overcharges..But
The White House released the 2012 budget today. In the budget it proposes to reimburse USPS for $6.9 billion in overcharges for FERS retirees. But the repayment is spread over 30 years, including $550 million in 2011.
Here is the summary from the White House 2012 Budget outlining provisions for USPS:
The Administration recognizes the enormous value of the Postal Service to the Nation’s commerce and communications, as well as the urgent need for reform to ensure the future viability of USPS. Therefore, the Budget proposes specific short-term financial relief measures, grounded in principles of fiscal responsibility as well as sound financial management, and the Administration will work with the Congress and postal stakeholders to secure necessary reforms. As to the structure of relief, the Budget would improve USPS financial condition by returning to USPS surplus amounts it has paid into its OPM account for its share of Federal Employee Retirement System costs. OPM has determined this surplus is approximately $6.9 billion, which would be paid back to USPS over 30 years, including an estimated $550 million in 2011. Secondly, the Budget proposes to restructure USPS retiree health benefits payments that were specified by the 2006 Postal Act. This change would still prudently pre-fund retiree liabilities, but on an accruing cost basis rather than the arbitrary amounts fixed in current law, which do not allow for the dramatic shifts in demand or workforce size that USPS has experienced in recent years. This restructuring and near-term deferral would provide USPS with $4 billion in temporary financial relief in 2011. Over the 2011 to 2021 budget period this proposal has an estimated deficit effect of $5 billion. See the Office of Personnel Management section of this Appendix for more information on this proposal.
These steps to provide USPS with the breathing room necessary to continue restructuring its operations without severe disruptions must be coupled with meaningful reforms to its business model to make USPS viable for the medium- and long-term. Postal volumes have dropped precipitously in the last few years due to the economic crisis and longer-run shifts in communication technologies and use shifts that have created new challenges even as they propel innovation and revolutionize our economy. The Postal Service needs the flexibility to adapt to these changes and higher public expectations for customer service. To that end, the Administration’s discussions with the Congress and others will be guided by the goals of allowing the Postal Service to: 1) Realign its infrastructure, facilities, processing and delivery systems to continuously improve efficiency; 2) Promote an adaptive, 21st Century workforce; and 3) Accelerate value creation and enhance service to the public while respecting fair competition in the marketplace.
And from the OPM:
POSTAL SERVICE RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS FUND
As a result of this health benefits financing system, beginning in 2017, the Postal Service will cease to pay annual premium costs for its post-1971 current annuitants directly to the Employees and Retired Employees Health Benefits Fund. Instead, these premium payments will be paid from amounts that the Postal
Service remits to this fund. Payments for a proportion of the premium costs of Postal Service annuitants’ pre-1971 service would continue to be paid by the General Fund of the Treasury through the Government Payment for Annuitants, Employees Health Benefits account.
The Budget proposes to shift how the Postal Service (USPS) pre-funds its retiree health benefits unfunded liability (UFL). Under current law, from 2011 to 2016, USPS must make a stream of payments set in statute toward paying down retiree health benefit unfunded liabilities, as well as pay annual premiums for current retirees. Also under current law, starting in 2017, USPS must pay the per capita accruing costs (or normal cost) to fund future retiree health benefits of current employees and a 40-year amortization of the remaining UFL for current retirees.
Under the proposal, starting in 2011, USPS would pay the normal costs for the future retiree health benefits of current employees and also a stream of payments associated with paying down the remaining UFL for current retirees. Further, USPS would be provided temporary financial relief as the 2011 payment would be adjusted so that USPS would pay $4 billion less than what it would have paid to this Fund under current law. USPS would make up this $4 billion payment to the Fund by paying larger amounts in future years. Beginning in 2022, USPS would pay the remaining UFL, amortized over 40 year period.
This proposal provides the following benefits to USPS: 1) USPS would be provided temporary financial relief in the form of a lower payment in 2011; 2) The new calculations of normal cost and UFL are based on new actuarial assumptions that reflect that USPS has fewer employees than in 2006, when the prefunding mechanism was originally adopted—therefore the actual annual payments for the normal costs would be reset each year based on the number of USPS employees; 3) This Fund would pay the premiums for current USPS retirees now, rather than starting in 2017—this accelerates what would have occurred anyway in 2017 under current law. See the Postal Service section of this Appendix for further information on this proposal.