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Bipartisan House OKs $57 Billion Overhaul for US Postal Service
A bipartisan House approved a bill to provide funding for a proposed overhaul of the US Postal Service. This includes measures to relieve the agency of tens of billions of dollars in liabilities. The measure hopes to allow the USPS to finally modernize its system and increase its efficiency.
RELATED: Senate Files Bipartisan Bill to Overhaul US Postal Service
House Passes Postal Service Reform Act 342-92
The Postal Service Reform Act passed a surprisingly bipartisan House, 342-92. It will now proceed to the Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will put it to a vote by next week. Both parties remain optimistic for the bill to pass through the Senate as well.
The bill features 27 co-sponsors in the Senate, including 14 Republicans. As such, it now has sufficient numbers to overcome any potential filibusters.
The Postal Service Reform Act is seen as a major breakthrough for the US Postal Service. In addition, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy made the legislation a focal point in his 10-year postal restructuring plan. Previously, the USPS asked Congress to help with its balance sheet for 15 years.
Preservation of the Postal Service
Democrats said that the legislation is crucial to maintaining the US Postal Service’s reach into nearly every American household. At the same time, Republicans say that the bill vindicates DeJoy’s initiatives to make the USPS a more conservative agency.
The bill’s sponsor, Representative Carolyn Mahoney (D-NY) is also chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. “We need to take steps to make our post office stronger,” she said. Mahoney added that the bill can save taxpayers’ dollars while at the same time making the operations of the post office more financially stable and sustainable. In addition, the bill also makes postal jobs and employee health benefits more secure.
Postal Service To Receive Help Clearing Liabilities in Healthcare Costs
Since 2006, the Postal Service pays its retirees’ health care costs in advance. Back then, mail volume remained steady as the agency stood profitable. However, declining use in mail turned the agency into a bleeding institution. Now, the pre-funding requirement eats up $152.8 billion of its $206.4 billion in liabilities.
The Postal Service Reform Act will wipe $57 billion of the Postal Service’s liabilities. In addition, the bill will also save the agency another $50 billion over the next ten years. The bill will also require new timely delivery transparency requirements. It also allows the agency to contract with local, state, and Indigenous governments. These agencies can help provide basic non-postal services, such as hunting and fishing licenses.
Republicans On Board with Postal Reform
Meanwhile, Representative James Corner (R-KY), the top GOP member on the House Oversight Committee, also gave his support. “Congress just doesn’t want to put a Band-Aid on the post office. We want to try to have a permanent solution to the post office, and that all predicates on having a reform plan. The former postmaster general never did come up with a reform plan,” he added. “Now we have Louis DeJoy. He came up with a reform plan. As evidenced by the support for this bill from Democrats, these reforms are working,” he added.
Previously, Democrats expressed their disdain for DeJoy. The Postmaster General’s past fundraising activities for former president Donald Trump didn’t help. As a result, Democrats accused DeJoy of hampering the USPS’s collection of mailed ballots during the 2020 presidential election. Now, it seems all parties are on the same page. “This was an agreement bill,” Maloney said. “From Day One, we could have passed a bill with just Democratic votes, but it would have been dead in the Senate.”
Loading ...Do you agree with the bipartisan bill to infuse funding to help the United States Postal Service? Will this ultimately help improve the agency’s services?
Tell us what you think. Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
18 Comments
Absolutely not ? How about USPS manage its current resources just like every citizen of this country must do. How about it proves it can do that before taxpayers hand out more money for them to squander ?
Yes I agree, the USPS is a great service, one of the few government agencies you can depend on to get things done. Don’t let the politicians strip something that a lot of people depend on. ERveryone can’t afford the private delivery services and internet connections. Support the USPS!!
Name one(1) department/federal agency that has EVER operated within their budget, not been highly overstaffed, and ever produced any documentation that could be read and comprehended by anyone other than a lying-azz attorney !!!!
Yes they need to support the USPO It’s a job the military can come back to Always !!!
What do hunting and fishing licenses have to do with the federal government? Those licenses are issued by the state.
Mismanagement of resources, financial,personnel and time,is the downfall of this agency. Unions overstepping their intended purposes,used as a revenge mechanism against management. That being said,there are plenty of idiots in managment,to provoke the workforce.
Get rid of the USPS! Just another incompetent, fund wasting government dept. Like the DMV, Social Security, DEA, etc. But politicians have to keep it going, they play a critical role in cheating the electios!
Until America adopts TERM LIMITS for Congress and the SCOTUS, only then can American taxpayers begin to eradicate all the drunks, liars, pedophiles, whores, and thieves in the Washington, DC area. America is being controlled by the Communist Party of America and the strength and power of that CONTROL group is growing. WAKE UP AMERICA —–FREEDOM IS NOT FREE !!!!!
Hmmmm, how about instead of throwing more money at the poorly ran Government USPS why not fire every f’n administrating suit and start all over!! Name one Federally ran government institute that is ran efficiently???? Hell, in my area the mail deliverers barely speak English and are notorious for sticking mail in whosever mailboxes be it the right address or not.
Interesting that USPS rates continue to increase BUT the delivery service gets slower and slower!!!
BTW—————–that documentation can be read by 12 different lying-azz attorneys and have 12 different interpretations—————–just the way gubmint manure is shoveled !!!!!!
There are American citizens out here struggling and you want to throw away money on USPS? They don’t even deliver weekly, maybe 4 out of 6 days a week. What happened to the monthly stimulus package? Can’t do that for the people, shouldn’t do anything else for the government.
No.. the problem stated was health and welfare costs, unless they change those overly generous entitlements they will be back for money as more of employees retire..
The Post Office has become like schools, always begging for more money. Neither is worth wasting money on. We the people don’t get any return for our money spent. In Alaska it take me two to three weeks to get first class mail if it ever shows up. Our school children get stupider and the government wants to force CRT on them. It’s time people we all step up and declare its not working. It’s time to either change everything or get rid of it completely.
USPS Another waste of taxpayer dollars.
They’ll tell you how it’s not a subsidized organization, but it is the
poster child for runaway waste of money. They should have let it go bust
and let a private company take it over and run it properly.
WASTE WASTE WASTE OF TAXES
No! Not no, but bleep no! In the last 30 years, our hard earned money has been thrown to companies “in need”. (Amtrak, GM, Crysler, etc.). All it does is make the top executives richer while making nothing else bettter, and increasing our tax burdens.
What all of you don”t know that Congress used The Postal Service as a CASH COW when we were Operating at a Profit. They Grabbed our profits and stuffed into the General for there Pork Barrel projects. When First Class Mail Tanked because of eMail usage and congress wanted to make Billing Payment Electronic that’s when the Postal Service started losing Money and Congress wanted more so Congress Forced a 15 Billion Pre-Pay for future Employee’s. No other Government has forced any Company in the world to Pre_pay like this. So much for the accused BAIL OUT the are just ging bake the Billions Congress stole from the Postal Service
Let a company that reports to stockholders take it over – then maybe there will be incentives for efficiency, cost controls and customer satisfaction. Where I live, lots of mail is never delivered, torn open, gift cards removed, etc. before it even hits the mailboxes. I had a package delivery that ended up on someone’s porch 45 miles away. Never saw it.