Editorial: The most insane law by Congress, ever? Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 | PostalReporter.com
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Editorial: The most insane law by Congress, ever? Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006

Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA).

From left to right: PMG John Potter, Sen. Tom Carper, Sen. Susan Collins, Rep. Danny Davis, President George Bush, Rep. McHugh at signing of Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA).

Most Americans have never heard of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006. The mind-numbing title alone sounds like it could put a hardcore insomniac to sleep. The truth is, it’s one of the most insane laws Congress ever enacted.

It’s past time for people in the Roanoke Valley to wake up about it. Because that legislation, sponsored by a (former) Virginia congressman, has real potential to kill 300 to 400 blue-collar jobs here in the Star City. Those have a combined payroll of more than $1 million annually.

 

My colleagues Matt Chittum and Zach Crizer wrote about those coming job cuts in last week’s paper. The U.S. Postal Service announced a consolidation plan that would move mail-processing operations now in Roanoke to Greensboro, North Carolina. Roanoke is one of 82 such operations around the country that would be closed.

Those cuts could slow your mail, because a cross-town birthday card may have to go to Greensboro and back before it’s delivered. Among the hundreds of jobs on the line are those held by 120 military veterans, 80 of whom are disabled.

Closing operations here may also cost bulk mailers the discount they now get for doing business in a city with a mail-processing center. Maybe those companies will go away, too. That’s even more jobs.

Who sponsored this cockamamie legislation? It was former Rep. Tom Davis, a Republican from northern Virginia who served in Congress from 1995 until 2008. He’s now a Washington lobbyist for Deloitte, a huge accounting and consulting company.

Last week I reached out to Davis to learn how and why this happened. One thing you should know is that the bill was bipartisan. The cosponsors were Reps. Henry Waxman, D- Calif., Danny Davis D-Ill. and John McHugh, R-New York.

The surprising thing I heard from Davis was that he agrees the future-funding retirement provision was crazy. That was never in the original legislation, he said.

Casey: The most insane law by Congress, ever? – Roanoke Times: Dan Casey.

10 thoughts on “Editorial: The most insane law by Congress, ever? Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006

  1. As “Sucka” said the 2006 bill was supported by the NALC. The then Pres. Young urged us to call are Congressman and tell them to support it. So we have only us to blame for its passage.

  2. @BOSTON TERRIOR-Donawhore was going to do the plant closings and dismanteling of the distribution networks regardless of whether the PEAE Act became law.As Deputy PMG under Jack Pot,he was charged with putting the plans together years before.

  3. The president does not appoint or remove the PMG,that is done by the Board of Governors.

  4. just look at former pmg potter he was there at the signing and immediately went outside and said the post office sky is falling, all of them are bat crap crazy. potter never stood up to bush, he knew bush would fire his monkey ass on the spot.

  5. This was the perverbial nail in the coffin. Bush and
    his cronies created another cash cow to drain from. The
    only federal agency to prefund “future” retiree health
    care to the extent of 5.5 billion anually. Senators need
    to stop complaining about closings and start postal reform
    that rids this rediculous payment for good. The postal
    service would not have to schedule any closings if not for
    this. The revenue loss is culminated with the 5.5 billion
    injected into the figure regardless if paid or not in any
    particular year. Nothing seems to penetrate or change the
    minds of these bafoons in particular Mr. Cantor who wanted
    to let the service drop saturday delivery in exchange for
    using the projected savings to pay for the highway fund!
    The postal service is down on one knee dazed with congress
    fishing through their pockets for loose change. In the
    interim we have employee’s and customers who are being
    dislodged from their jobs and post offices of choice.
    Eric Cantor was voted out which gives hope that people
    are paying attention to these morons but is it to little
    to late?

  6. The reasoning for the 2006 PAEA can be said in one phrase Suckas, “Follow the money”. The Unions lobbied in support of this legislation thinking they would get a piece of the surplus $100 million in the Postal Civil Service/FERs retirement fund. What happened to the money? One congressman was quoted as saying “the post office will never see any of that money”. It paid for other programs and other federal retirement. That’s all Sucaks.

  7. Their should be investigation to see why this Reform was done,and the people behind it.

  8. The whole article isn’t posted. Click the link to the Roanoke Times article

  9. More people are seeing now that the Postal legislation that was passed in 2006,was designed to place the Postal Service in a downward spiral! We can thank ex president Forrest Gump and ALAC. The idea is for the eventual privatization of the Postal Service. With that move, pay and benefits would be cut. Just as they would hope for! We must fight back. The meek will inherit nothing!

  10. So who put the prefunding into the law????? Does Davis know?

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