House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) postponed a scheduled Wednesday, May 7, markup of a yet-to-be introduced postal bill. The chairman has not announced a new date for the markup.
As outlined in last week’s Legislative Post, the new Issa bill was intended to mimic the postal plan proposed by President Obama and included in the White House fiscal year 2015 budget submission to Congress. The strategy of bringing the President’s plan to the committee for a vote faltered as the result of united Democratic opposition, and GOP discomfort with the provision to permanently extend the 4.3% exigent rate increase. For the chairman, it was essential that the bill emerge from the committee virtually intact, including the exigent rate provision, so he would be able to coax the White House to be its advocate. The key elements of the President’s proposal are included in S. 1486, the Carper-Coburn postal reform bill that passed the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in February.