WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Mike Michaud is calling on Speaker John Boehner to prioritize legislation that would promote the stability and sustainability of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Rep. Michaud has sent a letter to the Speaker urging him to take action following the April recess. If Speaker Boehner refuses to act, postal facility hours will be cut, service standards will be reduced, and thousands of postal jobs will be lost.
“The Postal Service has helped our country grow, yet Speaker Boehner isn’t permitting action that would allow for it to secure long-term financial stability,” said Michaud. “A financially sound USPS means that the jobs of hardworking postal employees are secure and a dependable level of service can be maintained. It’s time for Congress to act on meaningful reform so that the Postal Service can continue to keep American families and businesses connected.”
The full text of Rep. Michaud’s letter to Speaker Boehner is below.
# # #
April 10, 2014
The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives
H-232, the Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Speaker Boehner:
I am writing to urge you to take immediate legislative action that promotes the stability of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). We are more than half-way through the 113th Congress, and the House of Representatives has yet to take action to set the USPS on a long-term, sustainable path. This lack of action could disproportionately affect postal workers in rural communities whose postal facilities are reducing hours and whose postal customers depend on reliable and timely mail delivery.
While I understand there are legitimate disagreements among members of Congress as to the future direction of the Postal Service, there is widespread agreement that postal reform is necessary. The Postal Service delivers to more than 153 million homes, businesses, and post office boxes in the country, and it is responsible for over 8 million jobs. Constituents and businesses across our country depend on reliable mail delivery for critical services like receiving paychecks and sending and receiving payment on time. Congressional action is the only way to ensure that our constituents still have access to the postal services they expect and deserve.
But whatever steps Congress takes, the future of the Postal Service must not be balanced on the backs of rural communities or hard-working postal workers. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrel Issa has made no secret of his desire to dismantle the USPS. Chairman Issa’s proposed legislation, H.R. 2748, would end Saturday mail delivery, eliminate thousands of postal jobs, and phase out door-to-door mail delivery. It would end the USPS as Americans know it. We need to enact legislative reform that will protect postal jobs, maintain six-day delivery, and remove the massive burden of retiree health benefit prefunding.
Unfortunately, last week, the House of Representatives’ Budget Committee reported out a budget that would require U.S. Postal Service employees to pay more for health care, using that reform to save $19 billion over 10 years. This is just another example of Congress losing sight of the role the Postal Service plays in communities, both large and small, across our country. The Postal Service was not designed to be a business, but a federal program that keeps American businesses and families connected. Our country has evolved and grown with the help of the Postal Service, yet Congress refuses to take legislative action that permits the Postal Service to grow revenue and secure long-term financial stability.
In the last Congress, the House did not vote on its committee-approved bill, H.R. 2309. The House cannot afford to delay again in fixing the Postal Service. Congress needs to approve constructive and comprehensive postal reform legislation before the end of 2014. That is why I ask that you bring postal reform legislation to the House floor as soon as Congress returns from April recess. Since the early days of our nation, the Postal Service has been a vital part of America, and Congress needs to implement adequate reform so that it can continue to surge ahead.
POLITICS AND PRESSURE GROUPS CONTROL THE WASTE COST OF THE USPS.
Cost effective operations as well as the economic laws of supply and demand are ignored. The tradition of increasing monetary losses cost taxpayers as the financial funding comes from the general treasury which is taxpayers money.
Bubba you said it all in wasting money for 6 day street delivery as junk mail produces junk cost. Eliminating wasted salaries in maintaining non essential small post offices is another cost which is no longer needed.
Mayberry USA is history: reality must be dwelt with.
Republicans better hurry before they lose their chance to let their buddies cash in on the USPS cash cow.
6 day street delivery is a was cost. Advances in communication technology has eliminated the need. Comparison to pay telephones that at one time were on street corners and in areas that people gathered. TECHNOLOGY eliminated this need as cell phones eliminated the need. Personal paper communication is history as is reflected in decrease in revenue for ever declining first class mail volume. Delivering bulk business junk mail is high distribution cost and low revenue producer even with the latest rate increases. Latest financial report shows 1.7 billion dollar loss which could be significantly reduced if the common sense factor of eliminating wasted cost was enforced. Many small offices are within a radius of 10 miles of each other and are located within 5-7 miles of level 22 offices. Some have postmasters with $63000.salary and clerk that box mail provide retail stamps and parcel service. Others have a postmaster, clerk, and 2-3 rural carriers. PM salaries $72-$75,000 depending entry date or length of service as well as post office level as most are level 18. Maintaining so many of these needless offices is a monetary waste that if offices were eliminated or consolidated service would not be impaired. Changing demographics over time has eliminated the need for offices in communities that are know suburbs of nearby towns. Monetary waste could be greatly reduced if action was taken in this area.
Parcel delivery is the only green in the financial report compared to SPLY: politicians should take note as this is the only foreseeable revenue creation for the postal service
@SCOTT and Everyone of us FEDERAL EMPLOYEE’S;
Yes, it does feel that way. In this age, why do we have the Electoral College ? That is a farce. That purpose for that group, was for the true Congressmen to represent there constituents in the rural areas back in the late 1700’s and up until about the 1870’s or so. Now it is all corrupt. Very few here actually know they decide who is going to be president. Back when Al Gore was running, he had the popular vote, but the EC gave it to George Bush. Enough said.
But the Democrats screwed this country on Obamacare, on Keystone, etc., and on truly looking out for the middle class, and now postal reform. Only a few Dem’s have truly and verbally told other Congressional members about Senate bill 1486, where they are going to increase the retirement contributions, totally screw the federal employee’s who have legitimate injuries, raise the health ins. premiums even higher, and your so sacred president is behind this 100%. The same president that stated many times we have to take care of the middle class, and with no new tax increases. Now the House and there Postal bill, which is more or less the same one that the Senate’s bill ( S.1486 states ) language contains, is pretty much a done deal. So you can blame not only the scum (ISSA) GOP’rs, but also most of the Democrats that didn’t do any arm twisting to get some type of a fair bill for the average working JOE. One reason, nobody cared to voice there opinions, by mailing letters, and emails stating they are against this proposed postal bill that is going to redefine how we have now (all federal employees) lower, lower middle class employees. Very soon, there will not be enough decent jobs for anyone to be able to have anything extra to spend, and thus, and Lee Iaccoca stated, “There goes the economy for good”.
My God people, start sending letters by Priority. Not emails and regular first class letters. Sending a letter dropped in a Priority envelope has much better chance of getting read than anything else. Make fun of if you will, but I have sent to all Democrats in both Houses (dem’s), about 90%, to there prospective offices in DC, and it was well worth all that aprox. $5.90 I spent for each one. I sent one to Obama too. Now I am going to start sending to all of the GOP’ers on Monday. I’ll need I think 46 Priority envelopes for the Senators DC offices, and my GOD, what about 335 for the Republicans. This has cost me so much money as of last Tuesday. And it is from my savings account, but this is one time I feel it is worth to invest in. It will deplete all of our families savings, when all said and done, but at least if it passes, I can say I went down fighting to my last dollar. Bottom line, postal people do not care about taking 30 minutes to writing a letter stating how bad this bill is, and how it will devastate thousands of federal families, let alone the injure people on OWCP. If this bill gets passed into law, it will come down to that none of you FEDERAL employees will not have the right to BITCH about anything. Now, please sit down and start writing your letters to the Senate members in DC. The start with the House of Representatives. There names and addresses are online. Should be NO issues finding them. If you cannot mail it Priority, then send them First Class letters, and stick a couple of American flag stickers on the front envelope, as to for the aides to take notice of them. They will stick out from the others, and thus more likely to be read. You simply have to take the time and fight for what is right. If this bill, in both houses get passed,and into a law, then why even vote anymore people. WHY ? It will be too late for any of us that work in the Federal govt. God Bless…
I think the clusterbox’s is the worst idea. There is so much theft related to those boxes and then replacing them takes forever. With all the paperwork, backlog, and lack of manpower in can take 3+ months for the boxes, in the meantime the customers have to go to their local post office to pick up their mail. Then you have long lines at the post office because of it and irritated customers. Then when the Post Office finally replaces the curb side boxes its only a matter of time before they are destroyed again and the mail stolen and the process starts over.
stupid is as stupid does !!!
just an observation but the letter was written to speaker of the house not Issa. I thought that we made a profit last year? Why the doom and gloom now? As for the TE now a CCA, I think any one who stuck around after they took away over 6.00 an hour was and is stupid. Also watch what happens to all the CCA’s if we go to a 5 day work week.
I guarantee you not much more need to be said. Have a drink and do the dang thing. La da la dah da!
Nice sentiment, but only a truly stupid person, aka a FOX News fan and voting Republican, would still think in this day and age that any legislator in D.C. could possibly give a rat’s ass about the public at large. Elections are jokes, rigged before the primaries even start, with no proof we can verify not just that we voted, but whom we voted for. Until I can verify my vote, I will have no confidence that any national election and probably state elections are on the up and up. The deals are done behind those legendary closed doors, and presidents are selected, not elected. In my view, 2000 had that Florida fiasco because Gore and Bush Jr. were both so unappealing to both parties that the insiders just couldn’t agree on a consensus, and had to resort in the GOP’s case to theft of the election through the Florida Supreme Court.
But if we think that was the only stolen election, then we truly deserve who we get. So holes like Boehner and Issa are accountable to nobody, greasing palms in their home districts to ensure “victory”. It makes me sick. I honestly don’t know why I even bother to vote any more.
I’ve been working for the P.O. for about 8 years now!!! As a T.E. to a CCA …..from a $6.00 pay cut $22.60 to $16.58!!! And no retirement!!!! Doing more work than ever for less pay!!! I think Politian’s and Congress should be fired for not fixing or doing their job to fix this country!!!! Middle Class makes America!!! Hard Working America!!!
I believe they keep pause it and pause it until Chapter 7 is filed.
Issa is a self-serving weasel with no intention of taking this letter serious. He is only concerned about privatizing the USPS and lining his pockets.
Google his name and see what a criminal he really is!
has to go five day delivery and but the boxes at curb like 80% already have…we all should have the same service and put the city carriers on an evaluated route pay like the rurals have..done…then u can lower the cost of postage