From the National Association of Letter Carriers:
On July 19, the House Budget Committee released and adopted its Fiscal Year 2018 budget resolution, and it also published a non-binding policy statement. Drawing inspiration from the White House budget, proposed in May, and from a 2010 presidential commission on deficit reduction, the two documents train their sights on postal and federal employee benefits and target the U.S. Postal Service for massive cuts.
“The House budget would unfairly slash the incomes and benefits of federal employees and needlessly expose the Postal Service to crippling service cuts,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said. “Active and retired letter carriers must make their voices heard to fight these horrible proposals.” The president also directed NALC members to read the “Budget Battle 2017” web page.
The Budget Committee’s documents are meant to serve as a blueprint for the House Appropriations Committee as it works to adopt 12 federal spending bills covering various parts of the federal government. If the budget resolution is adopted by the House—which is far from certain because of divisions with the Republican majority there—the 12 bills are then expected to be combined in some manner, and they could include instructions directing each of the 12 congressional oversight committees to cut spending by certain amounts in the programs they oversee. These oversight committees, such as the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that governs the Postal Service and the health and pension plans of postal and federal employees, would then have to adopt bills to cut spending accordingly. Using reconciliation rules can expedite the budget process and help prevent a Senate filibuster.
The budget resolution now being debated in the House calls for the Oversight Committee to find $32 billion in savings over 10 years, and an accompanying policy statement makes suggestions for cuts that copy many of the harsh cuts proposed by President Donald Trump in May as well as others, including those proposed by the Simpson-Bowles presidential commission on deficit reduction in 2010.
One of the more troubling proposals introduced by the Budget Committee is one to fold the financially independent U.S. Postal Service, which is an “off-budget” agency, into the formal federal budget. Moving USPS to “on-budget” status could expose the agency to across-the-board spending cuts under the Budget Control Act of 2011—better known as “sequestration.” Such a move might also tempt members of Congress to pay for their spending priorities using Postal Service cuts that would threaten the quality of service we provide—and perhaps even our jobs. (These kinds of threats prompted Congress in 1989 to move USPS off-budget.)
Budget Committee staffers have suggested that the Postal Service could be protected from such threats, but there would be no guarantees. Regardless, any change in the Postal Service’s budget status would require the Oversight Committee to draft legislation calling for such a change, and NALC will of course monitor any such efforts.
Another troubling proposal being floated (actually, recycled) in the budget debate is to cut the rate of return on Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) retirement savings invested in the plan’s government securities index fund (or G Fund). Such a cut would cost retirees and savers up to $32 billion in income over the next 10 years, not to mention destabilizing the TSP and the retirement security of its participants.
“Congress should not damage the G Fund, which millions of retirees rely on to preserve the value of their retirement nest-eggs,” Rolando said.
Visit Budget Battle 2017 to learn how you can help fight these and other harmful proposals.
I agree with jeff, Rolando has the balls to complain after he sells out retirees by backing that they be forced to buy medicare b. Rolando is just pissed that trump is taking our pensions before Rolando can get his commission on selling out retirees!!!!!
Wow the mighty sorry NALC sold us out about 10 years. We have shitty raises, give backs in health benefits, longer routes, purposefully under staffing the routes to do extra work , harrasement from management, carriers being forced to skip breaks lunches and 10 minute breaks because of this carriers were injured or died in the job. Like the carrier in West Virginia died because of the heat longer routes doing extra work on other routes forced overtime skipped lunches and succumbed to the heat. In other words Fred you already fucked up this union before any of thes sorry politicians could start. Thanks for nothing Fred.
Each Federal employee that mocks the Democrats has an idea that the RATPUBLICANS are your friend! Think again Do you believe that Donald Dump cares about you? How many times did he have people work for him, then file for bankruptcy? Six times people were cheated out of pay. A bad Democrat is better than a good Ratpublican. I know many Democrats are really Businesscrats, however they are better than the Ratpublicans any day. Those of you that hate unions just wait till America becomes a right to work for free nation. Then you can cry, no one will care!
Thank the DemocRATS for this. Odumba kicked the van down the road for eight years.
Its always been a dog eat dog world, but the 1% of them are getting really, really big.
oh please……Demonrat Jimmy Carter’s 1978 Airline Deregulation Act caused over 400,000 great paying blue collar jobs to go down the drain…..opened the flood gates (trucking, telecommunications etc) for other hits on great paying blue collar jobs in other industries. the Demonrats are your friend-NOT!
congress would not take away things if the US Postal Circus were making money…..Postal Mismanaging Bureaucrats have lost over 120 Billion since 2009…..what do you expect. if the Postal Service were on the NYSE I would short the shares! oh yeah, DemonKKKats Pelosi and UpChuck Schumer are going to save you ROFLMFAO! Postal Unions have been up Postal Mismanagements A@@ the whole time they have been losing money hand over fist and never said a word about their PFP bonus money based on fraudulent data/numbers………..cry me a river! forget your crummy 1% yearly raise…..you union crooks should just work on getting a BUYOUT for the senior employees!
Business dictates US policy
Funny the NALC complaining about someone wanting to hit postal employee benefits, etc. when they back a postal reform plan that does the same.
Some “union”.
I’m with you Jeff. Good post!!!
just amazing on how the RATPUBLICANS want to cut the budget on the backs of the Federal employees, and the common citizen! The BASTARDS won’t touch business or the rich leaches. So the Ratpublicans want to cut waste, start on wealthfare given to business, the military toys and tax cuts for the big time operators. The rich should become self reliant! The New York Times told on how the DOD gave the Afghanistan Army 25 million in camouflage uniforms. The only problem, jungle camouflage was given, not desert camouflage. That will help America great again. Remember, if the expenditure is for military toys or a gift to the rich, it isn’t a waste. I just read that Donald Dump Jr. said he is miserable because all the heat his family is going through. What about what the American people are going through because of the Stooges?