The Senate, on Tuesday, approved a $107 billion Financial Overhaul of the long-beleaguered U.S. Postal Service (USPS), providing Monetary relief for the Agency that Leaders say will allow it to Modernize and Invest in Efficient service. President Biden has signaled his intent to sign the Legislation, which has already cleared the House.
The Postal Service Reform Act, which passed 79 to 19, provides Financial flexibility for the Mail Agency to take on Improvements that have been debated for years. Republicans have traditionally Criticized the Agency as a poster child for Government Waste and Incompetence, even as it won high marks for approval and trust from the Public. During the Pandemic, Democrats hailed mail Workers as everyday Heroes and pushed the Agency as an example of the Benefits of Robust Government services.
But the Postal Service’s role throughout the Coronavirus Pandemic forced Lawmakers to reach a Consensus on Restructuring its Balance Sheet, with worries that the Agency could Not withstand another Financial shock. Nearly Half of All Voters cast their Ballots by Mail during the 2020 Election, and Postal Workers hauled Packages from doorstep to doorstep amid surging e-commerce demand, allowing Individuals to purchase Essentials Remotely, and stay Home during Public Health Shutdowns.
“The Post office usually delivers for us. Today we’re going to deliver for them,” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) said on the Chamber’s floor Tuesday.
The Postal Service has endured years of Losses triggered by slumping Mail volumes and a 2006 Bill that required it to Annually Pre-Fund Retirees’ Health-Care Costs. Declines in Mail Revenue have forced the Agency to Default on those Health-Care Payments since 2011.
Tuesday’s Bill gives the Agency a Significant reprieve, Removing $57 billion in past-due Postal Liabilities and Eliminating $50 Billion in Payments over the next 10 years. It requires future Postal Retirees to enroll in Medicare, a move that would add Minuscule Costs to the Public Health-Care system, but would save Taxpayers $1.5 billion over the next Decade.
The Legislation also Codifies New timely-delivery Transparency Requirements for the Postal Service, which has struggled with On-Time service since Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, took Office in June 2020, and allows the Agency to Contract with Local, State, and Indigenous Governments, to offer Basic Non-Mail services, such as Hunting and Fishing Licenses.
“By passing this historic legislation, the Senate has shown the American people that we can come together, build consensus and pass meaningful reforms that will improve lives,” Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), the Bill’s Lead Sponsor, said in a Statement. “This bill, which has been 15 years in the making, will finally help the Postal Service overcome burdensome requirements that threaten their ability to provide reliable service to the American people.”
Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA, 11th District), One of the House’s Lead Postal Advocates, plans to introduce Legislation in the House Wednesday, that would Prohibit the Postal Service from enacting its Contract with Oshkosh Defense for mostly Gas-Powered Trucks, worth up to $11 billion, unless the Fleet is made up of at least 75% Electric Vehicles. The Bill has 68 Co-Sponsors.
DeJoy’s Plan also vastly Increases: the Replacement of Failing Equipment, Renovate dingy Post Office buildings, and embrace Package Shipping as Core to the agency’s Future. DeJoy opened 48 Package-specific Processing Plants in the run-up to the 2021 Holiday Season, with the Postal Service handling 13.2 billion items between Thanksgiving and the end of the year.
Since late January, those Facilities have been Transformed to Pack-and-Ship more than 270 million Free Rapid Coronavirus Test Kits. Postal Leadership and the White House have found the Program so Successful, that they have Expanded it, allowing Households to Request additional Kits. Postal Advocates have called the Initiative a mold for future Mail Agency services.
DeJoy whipped GOP Votes, in Person, appearing at the Party’s House and Senate Conferences to discuss the Legislation. Some Republicans, though, remained Unconvinced, calling the Legislation a Bailout for the Postal Service that would shift Financial Burdens to Taxpayers and onto Medicare. But in fact, the Congressional Budget Office, Congress’s Nonpartisan Bookkeeper, found the Bill would Save Taxpayers money by buffeting Medicare’s Prescription Drug Discounts. “This bill doesn’t reduce costs,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL). “It just shifts them from one unfunded government program to another underfunded government program.”
Mixed views of DeJoy in Congress made Negotiations on the Bill Politically fraught, with months of sprawling Negotiations with: Democratic and Republican House Leaders; and DeJoy with the Postal Service’s Four Powerful Unions. In May, they unveiled a more limited Bill, Omitting more-controversial issues such as: Voting Access, reduced Eelectric Mail Vehicles, Postal Banking, and Post Office Closures.
What remained was a narrower Package that Focused on the Postal Service’s Financial Obligations, but left Unresolved the other Major Questions that linger about the Future of the Mail Agency.
“It’s not a blank slate but a more blank slate,” said Porter McConnell, Campaign Director of the Consumer Rights group, Take on Wall Street, and Co-Founder of the, Save the Post Office Coalition. “In no way does it settle the debate about the post office in the U.S. It buys time for a conversation about what the post office looks like.”
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
No comments:
Post a Comment