Following Postal Issue in Richmond, DeSaulnier Acts by Amending Postal Reform Bill
March 17, 2017
Press Release
Washington, D.C. – A measure authored by Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) was unanimously adopted by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee as a part of the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act (H.R. 756), which has been years in the making. Congressman DeSaulnier’s amendment would require the United States Postal Service (USPS) to provide Congressional offices with at least 10-days of advance notice regarding any closure, sale, movement, or reduction of operations of a post office in their district. H.R. 756 is expected to be voted on in the House of Representatives in the near future. This amendment, which was praised by both Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) along with other Republican and Democratic members of the committee, was the only modification included to this landmark piece of legislation in the markup.
“Currently there is no requirement for USPS to notify Members of Congress when changes to a postal facility are made in their district. I discovered this missing link in January when residents from Richmond saw a notice posted on the door of the Nevin Avenue Post Office, but USPS had not advised my office of the pending sale,” said Congressman Mark DeSaulnier.
“USPS has an obligation to keep Congress updated on any plan to sell, close, or alter facilities and operations so Congressional representatives can share this information with their constituents. Proper and expedient notification is critical as the comment period for the public to share thoughts and concerns is 15-days for the sale of a building and 60-days for a full postal closure. USPS is responsible for processing and delivering over 500 million pieces of mail a day and changes in operations can negatively impact people and businesses. My amendment will help ensure the public has advance notice to make their voices heard,” DeSaulnier concluded.
“Residents here and across the country care about the decisions made by the federal government that impact important local community facilities. I was shocked to learn about the proposed closure of the historic downtown post office over social media without having been notified by the postal service. Residents expect federal and local government officials to coordinate to avoid significant impacts; this measure does just that. Congressman DeSaulnier took the steps needed to ensure transparency around important postal service decisions. We are thankful for the Congressman’s leadership to pass this measure and represent the community’s best interests,” said Richmond Mayor Tom Butt.
To “No Surprises” you are correct!! I misread your post and responded incorrectly, so I am sorry about that!! If you have time please google the following article that I based the 2006 PAEA statement on…”The most insane law by Congress, ever”. It was an article in the Roanoke Times interviewing Rep. Tom Davis about the PAEA law!
The reason working conditions and the theft of hard earned benefits is because the Ratpublicans and the Businesscrats don’t care one bit about the workers of America! There are very few Democrats left in Congress. Just about all legislation passed in the last few years is for the business bastards. Business just can’t seem to hoard enough money! Slavery is just around the bend. remember, the Ratpublicans believe workers only have the right to work, nothing more.
My buddy and me have a bet, he thinks Rolando is going to have the usps pay him some huge $$ and the union will totally take over all health benefits for union members, allowing the usps to eliminate the liability from the books. He says the steel workers union did this 15 years ago. I told him the usps can’t pay up front what they don’t have. My buddy says that’s why Rolando wanted to force retirees into medicare. I can taste that steak dinner now!
Is the reason Rolando is so quiet about the “secret” contract negotiations because he is finally getting his wish of forcing all carriers into the nalc hbp, like he wanted in the last contract 5 years ago. He has openly supported retirees being forced into paying for medicare, so that’s an extra $3100 a retired couple must pay for duplicate coverage. Couple this with a retirees portion of the nalc hbp, and we will be paying over $7000 a year for medicare and the hbp. I can’t figure out how Rolando believes a carrier retiring with a fers pension can afford this. A carrier getting a fers pension of $19k, deduct 10% for survivor benefits, pay taxes on the $17k and now pay $7k with after tax $ for medicare and hbp. Can we just tell Rolando to keep our entire pension now, and cut out the middleman.
Absolutely, and that was done strictly by “W” and his extreme radical cohorts!
The only change that should happen in this legislation is the removal of the prefunding of health care costs! Explain why is the Postal Service, and only the Postal Service, Stuck with this artificial cost? Every other organization in America should be forced to prepay health care costs! Begin with Congress. Never ask a man to do that what you wouldn’t want to do . The original plan by ex President Forrest Gump and Congress was to place the Postal Service in a terrible place that would strangle the service. That they did! you can thank the Ratpublicans every day.
Prefunding ensures my grand children have protections when they get my job.
It absolutely will not do that Larry Bel-Air.
That is/will be spending money for the politicians, and lobbyists, playing
footsy with the “World’s Economical Lifeline”!
Whatever Congress passed they themselves should own in Health care. If they have to use it they will make it great.
The windfall elimination tax on csrs employees need to be stopped, it’s robbery without a gun. Please!!!
we were promised a retirement and health benefits and now the health benefits are being taken away. sad day for postal retirees!
Postal Joe wherever you go count me in on your statement about this issue!
Our co-workers don’t see this coming!
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply to “no surprises”……Your comment….”Postal reform is a must”, followed by “while we certainly don’t want congressional control of the USPS, especially the GOP” tells us you don’t have a clue what you are talking about!!! The GOP are the authors of this stupid reform bill, that started with the Bush administration in 2006, that insisted that the pre funding be part of the PAEA bill!! All the unions back it because they are in it for the payback they’ll receive from their Healthcare insurance plans that will take in Millions of $$$ from this Medicare Mandate fiasco!!! This isn’t the time to talk about workroom floor BS, this is our retirement security we are talking about here!! Call your Senators and Congressmen and tell them “HELL NO” to this Postal Reform Bill before it’s too late!!!!!
I have just as good a grip on the situation as anybody else, “Postal Joe”. The GOP and Dems sponsor this bill, and they were the ones as you said wanted and passed the prefunding bill of 2006. So go back and read your own post – I said we don’t want the GOP especially running the Postal Service, and you agreed by blaming them for the whole situation and then try to tell me I don’t I have a clue??
I never mentioned the unions, and many of my friends are still on the workroom floors, putting up with so much bullshit and abuse it’s crazy. You are out of the Service like I am, and suddenly you don’t give a shit to what happens to your former fellow workers? That’s very selfish of you. Plus, I never embraced the current reform plan as is, either, so you read something into my post that isn’t there.
I am for good reform that keeps the USPS solvent and out of private hands. I too am a retiree and I don’t want anybody messing with my contributions, either. Yes, the unions are not as much in our corner as they used to be.
Before you insult people you better learn how to read correctly because all you did was agree with me and then told me I didn’t have a clue. I ran my local NALC union for 17 years, did arbitration work and carried city mail for over 32 years AND was the editor of the state paper for several years, so do not question my knowledge. Differences of opinion are one thing, but to regard what you thought was a different point of view that was actually close to yours and then just insult me for it makes you look stupid and intolerant. I don’t mind a discussion, but you as a retiree need to grow up and get it through your head some people don’t like being called names just because you don’t understand what you just read.
Would you be surprise if a Demorat congressman wants more red tape?
Thank you, everyone involved respects fair treatment. Common sense, and civility should be the driving force,
and empty excuses don’t do much to fix anything. I always enjoyed serving the public, because seeing problems always held hope that something could be fixed. I must admit that i started where most gave up.
First 12.5 in abuse, a bullet thru chest at 13. The nice thing about hard starts is the sky is the limit. What does
life hold, a promise that if you continue to try, things are always better.
It’s a nice thought but 10 days doesn’t seem like a very effective length of time to notify Congress of such a change. Since it’s apparently phrased “at least 10 days”, you can bet your booties the USPS will make sure it’s at the last possible allowable second, because that’s what they do.
Furthermore, it doesn’t stop them from doing what they want to do. Postal reform is a must, and to be reasonable and practical about it, there are parts that neither management, craft, unions or customers may like about it. Management accountability is mentioned, and that’s good. While we certainly don’t want Congressional control of the USPS, especially with the GOP in charge, which would mean immediate death and sale to some private outfit like amazon.com, who would LOVE to have its own delivery service, slash pay and benefits, kill the unions and remove universal service, all goals of GOP sleezebags like Paul Ryan or mushmouth Mitch McConnell, management runs amok.
Abusive managers, thieves who tamper with and steal contents of mail, both letters, flats, and parcels, harass, threaten and discriminate against those under their charge must be held accountable for their behavior by removal, not merely getting moved around from office to office, in the same manner as abusive priests.
The problem is that many in management that are on the workroom floor are given orders that openly violate the contracts and Handbooks and Manuals, and receive discipline for insubordination. They get it from both ends, and frankly, when I was still a letter carrier, there was no amount of love or money that could have made me go into management. There were some things I simply would have refused to do, among them disciplining for the most minor infractions, or where no reason for discipline existed, like trying to write some carrier up for not matching DOIS numbers that are corrupted to begin with. I would not bully anybody. I would follow the contract. So my time in management would have been short lived.
So postal reform needs to have a system in place that makes it harder for gross incompetence to continue unchecked. Whether that happens is anybody’s guess.
Is this congressman a republican or democrat? Why is this information left out?
I noticed that too, but it’s a bipartisan bill. You can look up the U.S. Representative list online very easily. As far as I’m concerned, if the Democrats don’t want to act like Democrats any more and fight for the working man and woman, they might as well be Republicans, so unless there’s a major paradigm shift in politics, which could happen if things keep getting worse, we basically have one conservative party that’s only different in degrees. There are only a handful of good Democrats left, and we can’t get anywhere if we don’t get more decent people in D.C.
your 32 plus years always will matter as you have stated, it
wasn’t always a smooth ride. but at the end of the day you at least tried to speak for what reflected the needs of your craft. if we wasted
our time divide, would that not work against every thing you worked
for. Peoples hearts shine a little brighter than their masks that they
use to hide behind.