Reid Statement On Postmaster General’s Announcement To Suspend Saturday Mail Delivery
February 7, 2013
Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid issued the following statement after the United States Postmaster General made the decision to suspend mail delivery on Saturdays:
“While I question the legality of the Postmaster General’s decision to suspend Saturday mail delivery, this unfortunate scenario could have been wholly prevented if the House had passed the Senate’s bipartisan postal reform bill in the last Congress. Cutting down mail delivery to five days per week will not save the Postal Service from insolvency. This short sighted measure will deal a crippling blow to the millions of Americans and small businesses who rely on the timely and reliable delivery to every community in our nation.
“Given the importance of the Post Office to communities in Nevada and across our nation, such a drastic policy change cannot be enacted without approval from Congress. Instead, the Postmaster General relied on flawed legal guidance to claim that he can circumvent Congress’ authority on the matter. The Postmaster Generals’ actions have damaged his reputation with Congressional leaders and further complicates Congressional efforts to pass comprehensive postal reform legislation in the future.”
“No one disputes that the Postal Service is in urgent need of reform. Passing meaningful postal legislation is one of my top priorities for this Congress and I hope House Republicans will finally join the Senate in bringing a bill up for a vote.”
BACKGROUND:
For nearly three decades, Congress has mandated that the US Postal Service maintain 6 day delivery through a provision in an annual appropriations bill. The USPS is relying on questionable legal guidance to claim that they can administratively reduce mail delivery since the provision remains in effect under the current government funding resolution.
Last year, Senator Reid worked to ensure the passage of a bipartisan postal reform bill (S. 1789) to update the Postal Service’s business model, preserve the postal network, and protect rural post offices. The bill would have sustained over eight million jobs and modernized the USPS so it can keep pace with today’s rapidly changing technology.
During a week of floor debate in April 2012, Senators voted on numerous amendments, including five day delivery, and the legislation passed with the support of 62 Senators. Regrettably, the House failed to consider S. 1789 or any postal reform legislation and Congress adjourned without acting to solve the crisis at the Post Office.
What truly amazes me is how some jr carriers can call for 5 day delivery? Don’t you realize that without saturday jobs will be abolished, and if things go as they should, then the guy with the least time will go first. I understand that their goal is to have a cheaper workforce and force the people with the most time out, but what kind of law suits do you think that they would open them selves upto for getting rid of senior people and keeping jr people? I’ll have 25 yrs in mid July, and I pray that they would try to get rid of me on some bogus write up. Besides that fact most of the people that I work with including myself are veterans. How can you ask someone to commit to the military with the possiblilty of losing their life, and then turn around and steal their livlihood from them. It’s those greedy rich folks like Rep Issa who just don’t give a damn. Shame on all those people, and perhaps shame on you!!!
5 day delivery all the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Iheardthisbefore’s thinking hits the nail on the head…sadly i used to be a republican…after i have seen how most Republicans have tried to blame ALL of the financial problems of usps on the unions instead in reality many other agencies besides usps will suffer.they have chosen to ignore most bills that would have corrected the greed taking of OUR 5.5 BILLION dollars …of course if the PMG gets away with breaking the law ….and sat.mail delivery is gone you can bet that in a short while they will once again “cook the books and say “see we were right …now we are back in the black…WHILE
Reid talks tough enough but will he or anybody else supposedly “outraged” at the decision and the arrogance of Donahoe actually do anything about it? I seriously doubt it. Part of that reason is because Congress themselves have to take some of the blame by not acting when the unions and the Service have been begging for reform for years. Now the only “reform” is from Issa’s camp, and Donahoe is a puppet of Issa.
Even with the protests from private citizens and businesses alike, the Postal Service management will continue to ignore the public and act with autonomy and incompetence. If five day delivery does take effect, at least the Congress should release that retirement prefunding requirement. Just doing that alone will help immensely. But unfortunately, Congress listens to the public about as well as the Postal Service management does.
Donahue is little more than a marionette,albeit a well compensated one. This is just the latest attempt to weaken and ultimately destroy this organization.USPS has made billions in over payments to it’s two retirement systems. Additionally it has made beyond 40 billion dollars in payments towards the Congressional mandate of 2006. No longer able to function as a Congressional cash cow has rendered USPS as a liability in the eyes of Congressman Issa and his ilk. They salivate at the thought of getting their hands on billions of dollars of Postal real estate. Cutting Saturday delivery is strictly designed to eliminate another 22,000 Postal jobs and further weaken a union that most republicans detest. Saturday/Sunday’s off sounds appealing but consider those that will lose their livelihoods.Given DPS and FSS,already difficult Monday’s will become nightmarish.Forget Holiday weeks.This is a lose/lose proposition for USPS and the American people.
Well put Mary! I agree.
News for you Mary, plant workers don’t get weekends off. Only if you are really senior, it’s a 24/7 operation. So those of us with little seniority are there on Sat/Sun. We have days off during the week, yes there are two of them, but they are not weekends. And, you think just Monday’s will be heavy, include Tuesdays with that. The shifts at the plant are different, so when it’s my Tuesday it’s another shifts Monday, so there is a delay resulting in Mon and Tues being heavy. PMG can’t think anything through, he just comes up with one idea and doesn’t follow through. He is totally clueless.
RED: Yes letter carriers want 5 day but that’s only because 2/3 rds of them want weekends off (same as station clerks and the plant workers). But think about the consequences of every Monday being even heavier than it is now. Friday is a heavy mailing day from all the businesses which makes Saturday delivery heavy–now hold that mail over until Monday (every Monday) along with the other 2 days worth–then think about when there’s a Monday holiday and there is 4 days worth of mail to deliver on Tuesday! If this passes many carriers will loose their bids and routes will be redone. There will not be the need for utility carriers to cover the carriers days off–your not thinking about those job losses–think again.
Anyone who wants to take the time to read it, I have a LINK to the CONSERVATIVE “THINK TANK” called the CATO Institute which SHOWS CLEARLY WHAT THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT WANTS TO DO WITH “Government” and it’s services:
http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/usps
MYOPIC folks like “red” can’t see that THE CORPORATE, MONEY CLASS want to SUCK AMERICAN WAGE EARNERS DRY, stripping their earned assets from them and to send THIS NEW FOUND “GOLD” to an off shore account where they can HIDE IT FROM THE US GOVERNMENT and all taxation. Welcome to the NEW ECONOMIC UNDERCLASS “red”.
The PMG and his legal department are fully aware that they cannot drop ANY DAY of delivery unless the Congress passes legislation to ALLOW IT… this “end around” will not curry favor from anyone in the Senate, and will appeal to only House members who for years have been smacking their chops about PRIVATIZING most government functions to their “PRIVATE SECTOR CORPORATE SLUM LORDS” who envision BIG DOLLARS IN THEIR LARDER by eliminating the current wage earners who hold the jobs right now…hiring LOW WAGE REPLACEMENTS WITH NO BENEFITS…and pocketing the LARGE CASH BONANZA that results from the VULTURE EVENT OF PICKING THE BONES CLEAN that Darrell Issa set in motion for his TeaPublican Party membership…
And the poor DUMMIES like “red” who doesn’t like to work Saturday’s, but is NOT BRIGHT ENOUGH to understand the BIGGER PICTURE HERE… It’s NOT ABOUT SATURDAY DELIVERY… It’s about ELIMINATING WHAT THE GOP CALLS an “over paid, over benefited work force” under the GUISE OF SAVING MONEY IN THE FEDERAL BUDGET…
AND A GULLIBLE NATION CANNOT SEE THAT THE USPS DOES NOT COST THE TAXPAYER A DIME OF TAX MONEY…
And the same dummies like “red” will support this destruction of one of the most trusted, dependable and universally well regarded public service…
Actions by Hairy Reid are to get attention as he can kiss his position goodbye. He questions Fiscal Cliff as he is descending for failing to give attention to curbing reckless spending. Questions legality for USPS attempting to curb wasteful unnecessary
spending. The $224,000 annual salary and benefits should be reduced as his pay for performance needs to be reduced as the results are negative.
sen. reid how much did nalc give you? letter carriers want 5-day!!!!
Jackie, what cash bailout are you talking about? You are clearly misinformed.
PMG just want to call for more cash bail out.