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By Miriam Raftery
Photo: mail carrier; CC by ND via Bing
March 11, 2022 (San Diego) – The Postal Service Reform Act has passed the U.S. Senate by an overwhelming 79-12 vote, after earlier passing the House 342-92.
Four of San Diego County’s representatives voted in favor, as did both California Senators. But Congressman Darrell Issa voted no.
The Postal Service has been losing money in recent years, primarily because it is the only federal agency required to pre-pay retirees’ health benefits. Officials warned Congress that if this bill did not pass, the Post Office would run out of money by 2024.
The bill now heads to President Joe Biden, who has pledged to sign it into law. Here’s what the bill will do:
Make the Post Office financially solvent
This bill ends the requirement for the Post Office to prefund retirees medical care, saving the agency $27 billion a year over the next decade. Instead, it requires Postal employees to enroll in Medicare, which will save taxpayers around $22.6 billion over the same 10 years.
Restore cuts in postal service
Many consumers have complained about recent cuts in postal delivery service. The bill will restore service to six days a week.
Reduce postage for newspaper delivery
When the U.S. first gained independence from Britain, the federal government used to subsidize the cost of mailing newspapers to subscribers. That went the way of horses and buggies, phased out as advertising revenues propped up newspapers financially. But with ad revenues shifted to online information sites and social media in recent years, newspapers have struggled and many have closed their doors. So the bill expands special rates for local newspaper distribution.
Supporters
The bill is supported by major entities that rely on dependable postal service to deliver goods including Amazon, Hallmark Cards, the National Retail Federation, Publisher’s Clearinghouse, Package Shipping Association, and the Association of National Advertisers as well as the National Newspaper Association. It is also backed by the National Rural Letter Carrier Association, the National Association of Letter Carriers, and the American Postal Workers Union, among others.
Many members of both parties supported the bill which passed with more than 75% in favor. However, some Republicans have opposed postal reforms to save the Post Office, instead suggesting that services should be privatized. But that could leave some postal customers, particularly those in remote rural areas, with no home delivery service, since companies would likely cherry pick the most profitable services to offer.
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