Jan. 8, 2014—Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee of the House of Representatives (HOGR), has introduced new legislation to eliminate Saturday letter mail delivery right away and Saturday package delivery within five years.
The new bill, H.R. 3801, offers these cuts as a means to pay for the repeal of a small reduction in military pension cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) that was included in the Ryan-Murray budget deal enacted in December.
H.R. 3801 would require even greater delivery service cuts than does H.R. 2748, the disastrous postal bill passed by the HOGR committee last year. The new bill would target the Postal Service’s booming package delivery business as well as letter mail delivery.
Two national publications aptly summed up the situation, with The Nation calling Issa’s bill “cynical” and the more conservative Bloomberg BusinessWeek referring to it as “mischievous.”
Issa’s bill would immediately end Saturday letter mail delivery to the nation’s 151 million addresses, including businesses and residents. It would also phase out Saturday package delivery in a very strange way: Any new delivery points added to the Postal Service’s network since Sept. 30, 2012, would lose package delivery immediately. That means well over a million households and businesses would lose a service they now receive.
And all new delivery points, which typically rise by nearly a million per year in the United States, would be denied Saturday package delivery as well. Then, in 2019, all U.S. homes and businesses would lose Saturday package delivery.
Bizarrely, at a time when the Postal Service has successfully expanded package delivery on Sundays for Amazon.com and when the booming 24/7 world of Internet shopping is fueling a Postal Service recovery, H.R. 3801 would undermine the Postal Service’s fastest growing line of business.
“This is a non-starter in terms of both merit and political support,” National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredric Rolando said. “It would hurt the Postal Service, businesses and the public, and it has virtually no support in Congress.
“The USPS is making a comeback as the economy gradually improves, with a return to operational profitability in 2013 ($600 million in the black) and a strong 2013 holiday mailing and shipping season,” Rolando said. “By degrading the Postal Service’s last-mile delivery network and slowing mail service, Issa’s bill would stop that comeback in its tracks.
“The bill also would be costly to millions of small businesses that are open weekends and need to send and receive checks, while inconveniencing people throughout the country,” the president said. “And it would damage the $1.3 trillion national mailing industry that employs 7.5 million private-sector workers.
“We agree that the budget shouldn’t be balanced on the back of military veterans,” Rolando said. “But Issa’s bill is not the right way to remedy that. One-quarter of all letter carriers are veterans, as are one-third of those hired over the past year. Eliminating 80,000 good jobs that offer opportunities for veterans is a poor choice for offsetting a budgetary hit on military pensions.
“Congress should reject this transparent attempt to use public support for veterans to shrink and degrade the U.S. Postal Service, an institution that is based in the Constitution and that provides Americans with the world’s most affordable delivery service,” the president said.
“Rather than stop the Postal Service’s comeback by reducing service, lawmakers should revisit their mandate that USPS, alone among all public or private entities in the country, pre-fund future retiree health benefits,” Rolando said. “This unfair mandate accounted for 100 percent of USPS red ink in 2013.”
Hey John From Rhode Island: Your viewpoint is fascinating! What has Congress done, specifically Republicans, besides completely block any and all constructive proposals on rebuilding this nation? What have they done, period? Can the simple fact that Obama resides in the White House be enough to stand back and let the Bush debacle continue to demolish this country? Apparently so. Let’s again de-regulate Wall St – they’re an honest bunch of righteous individuals! While we’re at it, why don’t we look for another country to baselessly invade? – now there’s a money maker! Then we can support the brave military personnel (and their families) for the rest of their lives, that come home mangled, if not dead! The cost of healthcare has been reasonable enough that it shouldn’t be too big a deal! Higher education has allowed criminals to reside within our gov’t (Issa being bona fide!) and infrastructure to fill their pockets on the backs of the work force, while the likes of O’Reilly place blame squarely on the backs of the moderately or un-educated! What has Obama done? He’s kept us out of further conflict; introduced Affordable Health Care; addressed the deficiencies in our Education system – and he’s pretty much done this on his own! When USPS goes down, and it’s well on it’s way, get a massive bag of popcorn and witness the complete take-over of this country by the big money. ENJOY THE SHOW!! By the way, history reveals prosperity flourishes with the Democratic Administrations and is under attack when Republicans take over.
George Bush (REPUBLICAN) signed the postal act in 2006 which put the postal service in the red. This bill makes the postal service pay 7.5 billion dollars into a retirement health benefit fund in which we the postal service over payed by 75 years. The government will not stop this funding because it payed for the war.
Issa impeached and tar an feathered got my vote.
Get Real, you would lose 1 out of every 6 carriers to 5 day delivery. All T6 positions would be eliminated.
Weekends off for me losers!!! 6 day blows………
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee of the House of Representatives should be impeached from his position for deliberate sabotage of the postal services existence. The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the sole power to impeach an official, and it makes the Senate the sole court for impeachment trials. He and his party followers are the main reason a feasable postal reform bill isn’t a reality as of yet. It is within the power of the people of his state to vote him out of congress which would be a blessing for all.
Hey Rolondo. Saturday delivery means nothing compared to the fact you do nothing to fight management on the things that effect us everyday you idiot. I’m Talking about worker safety, particularly delivery after dark. It’s about time you pinheads in Washington start standing up for the things that effect us everyday instead of fighting for one day a week
what a drama chat room!
Best I go fishing soon
GET RID OF ISSA NOW !!!! HE IS USELESS !!!!
What 5 day delivery has to do with a COLA on military retirement pay is beyond me. Where does the money for the COLA come from if 5 day is in place? This guy is a fruitcake.
Sad thing is, if Saturday delivery was cut, there would not be 80,000 jobs lost as Rolando says. At best there would be 35,000 early retirees, soon to be replaced by newly promoted CCAS, better flow of mail, reduced forced OT, A much happier work force, less abuse of sick leave, and last but not least a more efficient POSTAL SERVICE.
Some people drink the GOP kool-aid by the keg, it seems. How could anybody but a hater of the working class support a jerk like Darryl Issa? Maybe some lazy fools who only want Saturday off to golf or watch football, or simply (the emphasis on “simple”) believe whatever the GOP tells them. Hasn’t anybody learned you shouldn’t trust or believe anything out of D.C.? If you Issa lovers want to put your money where your mouth is, why don’t you resign in a show of support for killing the Postal Service? You’re advocating your own career suicide and yet you have the gall to tell others to wake up? Damn.
The termiinator is just a casual who doesnt want to work on weekends .And I say ternimator ,termiate yourself ,quit and find another job mon-fri.
To all you 6 day haters out there KMA!
Keep the lanes open, stop holding up America.
The truth shall set you free,go six day delivery.
Sunday Amazon.
7 days mail and parcels delivery is the best way to serve American.
Tony B stop watching MSNBC and open your eyes…Obama has done nothing for the middle class in 5 years but keep kissing his ass…We pay under him, we make less under him and we are worth less under him…But its the republicans fault….what planet do you live on…You made more under Bush, you paid less under Bush and you were worth more under Bush…Go back and look, the Dems. always say there are for the middle class when every time they are in control we get screwed…Then they say its Republicans fault….Tony your a lost cause Obama’s policies are the ones that are KILLING America…Not republicans….
Rolando wake up….You are killing the post office…The buck stops with you…Stop the blame on everyone else…5 Day will save the USPS..Open your eyes…
Delivering mail known as bulk business 6 days a week is a waste. Face reality small business would NOT be hurt by 5 day delivery. There are very few if any that depend on mail delivery to receive any type of payment.
The small business concept is in the past. National retail corporations control shopping in malls and has eliminated small locally owned shopping. Demand for postal services has one last grasp and that is in the rapidly increase online shopping which increases parcel delivery which would generate revenue. The USPS can continue to fail to operate cost effective and continue the negative balance sheet it now produces. The Constitution needs to be amended as the delivery system referred to was in times when communication had to be provided by manual primitive means in the 18th, 19th, and middle of the 20th century before massive communications and transportation systems evolved and emerged to the status that now exist and will further advance with time. USPS needs to operate cost effective by reducing work hours, labor cost, and vehicle-fuel cost by reducing mail delivery to 5 days a week.
Should Congress give in to politics and pressure groups the taxpayer can pay for postal operations with taxes as it was until 1972 when it was mandated that USPS should work to a break even point which it did until the advent of communication technology advances resulting in a decrease in first class volume which resulted in massive decline in revenue and as it exist today is the rest of the story.
This Issa for real?! How many bills is he gonna put out?? Every year he keeps putting one out through his committee only to have it turned down. It’s soooo obvious he doesn’t care about American jobs, middle class jobs. Just cares about what and how it’s gonna benefit him and all his business partners.. And now I know how much Donut Hole has to gooooo!!! PMG has been with the post office for 38 years.. Obama and Biden, please make this idiot Postmaster RETIRE… Please!!!!!! I guess Issa doesn’t realize that about 100,000 veterans presently work for the post office. Ask any veteran if they would prefer job security or a small pension increase… I hate Republicans!!!! They don’t care about preserving middle class jobs and small businesses….
Issa’s bill is “creative financing” in fantasy land. Is he nuts?
Thumbs up terminator!
Teminate saturday delivery now!