Senate and House postal oversight leaders have agreed to a package of undisclosed “principles” to guide the shaping of similar, but not necessarily identical, Senate and House comprehensive postal reform bills, according to Congressional sources.
While the agreement does not clear the way for immediate action in either chamber, it reveals incremental progress between leading Senate and House lawmakers that potentially could lead to Congressional action on postal reform.
NAPS members should remain on alert to the prospect of movement in the Senate or the House on postal legislation in the coming weeks, though progress could again stall.
Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told delegates to the NAPS legislative conference in early April that he hoped to bring a reform bill to the committee for action later that month. Now, five weeks later, neither Carper nor his ranking Republican counterpart Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) have unveiled joint or separate reform proposals, as talks between the two continue.
Last week Carper and Coburn reacted with disappointment to the news that the U.S. Postal Service ended the second quarter of its 2013 fiscal year (Jan. 1 – March 31) with a net loss of $1.9 billion.
Broader reaction within the postal community to the Postal Service’s announcement was twofold: relief that the setback was smaller than in the same quarter last year, when the Postal Service notched a $3.2 billion loss; and anxiety that further financial losses by USPS will likely continue unless Congress musters the will to pass comprehensive postal reform legislation.
In its May 10 announcement detailing its quarterly loss, the Postal Service noted that it has already reached its debt limit of $15 billion. It also has defaulted on $11.1 billion due for retiree health benefits in 2012 and also expects to default on an additional $5.6 billion on September 30, 2013. In addition, the Postal Service owes an estimated $17 billion on future workers’ compensation claims.
“These obligations of nearly $50 billion and continuing losses highlight the need for immediate legislative reform to give us the latitude to execute on our Five-Year Plan and improve our ability to repay these obligations and return to profitability,” USPS Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett said. Corbett noted the plan also requires aggressive actions to increase operational efficiency and improve the Postal Service’s liquidity position, including the accelerated consolidation of mail processing, retail and delivery networks to align with mail volumes and changing customer needs and continued administrative reductions.
Corbett also highlighted the key elements the Postal Service believes are central to comprehensive postal reform:
• Require a USPS Health Care Plan (resolves the Retiree Health Plan prepayment issue)
• Refund the FERS overpayment and adjust the FERS payment schedule
• Adjust delivery frequency (six-day package/five-day mail delivery)
• Streamline the governance model
• Allow USPS the authority to expand products and services
• Require a defined contribution retirement plan for future postal employees
• Provide instructions to arbitrators to consider USPS’s financial condition in interest arbitration awards
• Reform workers’ compensation
Last year, separate legislative proposals approved by the Senate and a House committee would have achieved some, but not all those objectives.
NAPS continues to push for Congressional action that repeals or modifies the retiree health pre funding requirement, returns pension overfunding to the Postal Service, preserves Saturday delivery and other service standards, and authorizes the Postal Service to sell additional products and services.
GTA V ROCKS. GTAis definitely going to keep me awake all night!
I don’t listen or watch any of those people. You proably watch MSNBC with is gossip not news. Hannity and rush too conservative and MSNBC way to Liberal for me. Bill O’reilly is the only show I watch because it is fair and balanced. I pay 11,000.00 a year in property taxes. Teachers make over 100,000.00 and cops make 120,000.00. I pay enough in taxes and I’m sick of it…Nobody influences my decisions but you people need to open your eyes. The union way is the wrong way…And you all will see 5 day is on the way and I can’t wait to have saturdays off….And remember the union don’t care about you, all they care about is 23.44 per pay check… Ask yourself this question If there was no union would I still have a job? I would definetly have mine and you proably wouldn’t thats why you need the union….
Listen to Diane and your union John P and turn off Hannity, Rush and all the other right wing propaganda. It’s amazing to me how the right wing of the republican party has used thier media to get union members to vote against themselves and thier families.
no bkizzle..you will be the one who they layoff..wakeup people..somebody got to go if they get rid of saturdays…hopefully it will be you!!!
This comment stream is a perfect example of why politics in America have degenerated into pettie argument with no emphasis on results by clinging tightly to our ideology and rigidly accusing the other side for all failure and shortcoming we have lost the essential art of compromise leaving us in a stagnant state of inaction where none of the days important problems are ever resolved this is a recipe for the complete collapse of society
They say postal reform soon,a year from now we will still be delivering all mail on saturday,alot of talk but nothing ever gets done,in my office they said we were getting fss last feb,still no fss,just keep kicking the can down the road.
The rich people were already making the money, John, before Obama was elected not appointed as Bush was. If you do a little research you will find that the average American’s standard of living and income has gone down hill since the 70’s while the upper income continue to flourish and the gap gets wider. Five years is not enough to overcome the republicans unlimited spending spree’s including unnecessary wars not funded. Open your own eyes. I am a letter carrier also and the ones that are screwing us are the ones trying to take your job and benefits away.
Am I getting saturdays off? That’s all that reall matters at th
Who’s making money now with the Democrats in the White House… Rich People…We the working class getting screwed. Who is in better shape now then 5 years ago. No One…And whats funny is your guy Obama wants 5 Day delivery, but blame Republicans. Simple economics, when something isn’t woking you need to fix it, not stay the same course. The economy looks good but in reality low intrest rates make it so the average person with money in the bank make no money. All money in the stock market which is about to explode..The fed’s pumping 85 BILLION a month into the economy to make the stock market look good which make the RICH get richer. It’s a ticking time bomb that will explode and be worse than anything we all have seen. But blame republicans. Wait a matter of fact blame Bush even though he has been gone for 5 yeas…OPEN YOUR EYES.. We, the working class are get screwed, and the last 5 years is proof. So Diane I am a letter carrier, not a rich person. I am not brainwashed just telling the facts. And History will show who is right. That is why this country is Great. Everyone has an their say…Lets just hope it stays that way
Couldn’t agree more Diane, I mean we come through the biggest economic calamity since the Great Depression, and yet CEO pay and corporate profits emerge unscathed and in many cases actually rose…. But workers wages and benefits are crippling industry. I guess I could understand supporting such things if you’re one of the oligarchs or their cronies, but when you see people that are the victims of their policies being so vehemently supportive it’s maddening and depressing
Typical Republican…Brainwashed, ignorant. The Republicans don’t want the Postal Service around unless it is privatized so they and their cronies can make more money (greed) and pay workers what they want,with no benefits. The only ones that are pushing us into poverty are greedy b……. and the ignorant people who vote for them.
Congress agree ? Gee! Sounds wonderful, then they could re-clone the Congress for IRS duty.
Typical Democrat…..Blame Republicans for trying to save the Postal Service, Medicare, Social Security and Medicad…If you don’t do anything now it wont be around. Is that what you want. Welcome to the real world. ALl these need change to be successfull. You can’t keep going the same course…..And this governent is pushing EVERYONE into poverty. Open your eyes…
Kiss your present benefits good-bye with this “BI-PARTISAN” screw job….
“defined contribution retirement plan”….a little Vaseline and it won’t hurt a bit.
“require a USPS health care plan”…. don’t get sick and if you do, die quickly…a little more Vaseline ok?
“provide instructions to arbitrators”…. hand out BIG jars of Vaseline before contract “negotiations”.
“reform workers compensation”….. you’re fired after two months after that BMC door falls on your head.
Let’s face it, our “FRIENDS” in Congress want to turn the USPS into McDonalds or DairyQueen hamburger joints…. LOW WAGES, NO BENEFITS…. the Republican Dream endorsed by turncoat Democrats….
THEIR NEXT BIG PROJECT: eliminate Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid for the POOR….just as they PUSH YOU IN TO POVERTY….