Senate Passes Postal Reform

Senate Passes Postal Reform. Senator Charles Schumer delivers for Letter Carriers and their Families.

Thanks to the efforts of New York Senator Charles Schumer after almost 16 years Postal Reform was passed in the Senate by a wide margin in a vote of 79 for and 19 against. The Bill had bi-partisan support and when it is signed into law by President Joseph Biden it should forever change the landscape of the Postal Service.

The key provisions of the “BILL” call for the elimination of the Postal Service’s requirement to prefund its retiree health benefits 75 years into the future. Unlike other federal workers, the postal service was mandated to pay “Billions” of dollars a year starting in 2006. This requirement caused the Postal Service to repeatedly exhaust its budget on many occasions and lead to the appearance that the Postal Service was on the verge of financial bankruptcy. This reform was long overdue.

The passage of HR 3076 now mandates that the Postal Service must deliver mail and packages at least 6 days a week. Previously, this mandate had to be voted on repeatedly “year after year” in order to continue 6-day mail delivery.

The final accomplishment of HR 3076 is that it will “Reform” the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) to maximize its integration with Medicare for future postal annuitants beginning in 2025. This is a “Big” deal for letter carriers and their Families and the Postal Service. It has taken a “long” time (16 years) in coming and should provide better benefits for letter carriers and their families in the future. It will also provide job security because of the permanent mandate for continuing 6-day mail delivery.

Although this was a legislative endeavor, it was also political action because without the support from the NALC and other Postal Unions, the election of Pro-Congressional Representatives in both the House and the Senate could have caused the defeat of this legislation. Thus, we might still be waiting for Postal Reform.

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