Obama Budget Backs Six-Day Delivery
President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget proposal requires the continuation of six-day delivery by the Postal Service. The administration also promises to work with postal unions and other stakeholders to keep the Postal Service strong for years to come. In setting the amount for “revenue forgone” to cover the costs of free and reduced rate mail, the 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….” Looking to the future, the proposal, submitted to Congress on February 1, states, “The Administration will work with the Postal Service, its employee unions, the Congress, and other stakeholders to make sure the Postal Service (remains) a pillar of the American economy and a vital public resource through the current crisis and over the long haul.” Language in a separate section, however, proposes changes in the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) that could be problematic. The NALC is investigating those proposals and will act to protect letter carriers’ interests. See the USPS section of the budget, with key sections highlighted
The Postal Service’s presentation of its 5-day delivery proposal appears to be on a fast track for presentation to the Postal Regulatory Commission. In announcing the MTAC agenda, the Postal Service has included a 90 minute briefing on 5-day a week delivery on February 17. The Postal Service will repeat this presentation on the web four additional times in February.
source: NALC
http://www.nalc.org/images/FY2011AdminBudgetProposalUSPS.pdf
Time running Out To Pass Any Measure For 5-Day Delivery
From Federal Times
The clock is ticking on a host of measures pending in Congress that would have a big impact on are of high interest to high-impact items affecting federal managers and employees.
Finally, one measure that has virtually no chance of passing this fall would:
• Allow the Postal Service to cut back to five-day mail delivery.
Postal Service officials have been pleading with Congress to approve five-day mail delivery to reduce operating expenses.
The outlook is dismal. When many Americans are waiting anxiously for their Social Security or unemployment checks to arrive in the mail, cutting back mail service doesn’t seem like a popular idea to many lawmakers.
No one has even introduced legislation to enact five-day delivery. In fact, one pending House resolution, HRes 173, expresses the sense of the House that the Postal Service should do everything possible to ensure six-day delivery.
http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=4273445