Postal Service Reform Act Introduced in the House

To aid USPS on the road to recovery, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform has introduced legislation entitled the Postal Service Reform Act. Since its introduction, the bill has already garnered bi-partisan support. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has also approved the bill. Today (Thursday, May 12th), the committee will consider the bill in a “markup” session to finalize any main points.

Key Provisions in the Postal Service Reform Act

The main points included in the bill are as follows:

• Eliminate the Congressional mandate requiring USPS to pre-fund retiree health benefits
• Require postal employees to enroll in the Medicare government-retiree health plan. This measure would save USPS $40 billion to $50 billion over 10 years
• Direct USPS to maintain an integrated network for the delivery of market-dominant and competitive products with delivery occurring at least six days a week, to the extent practicable
• Require USPS to establish yearly nationwide delivery targets, and develop and maintain a public website with an interactive web-tool. This tool will provide performance information of market-dominant products, and will be updated on a weekly basis
• Allow for the creation of specific non-postal services to generate additional revenue

Postal Service Reform Act Will Work in Tandem with the 10-Year “Delivering for America” Plan

Ranking Member James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, is one of the lawmakers in support of the bill. He believes that, along with the Delivering for America Plan, this bill is what USPS needs to achieve financial sustainability. Comer provided the following quote:

“[The Postal Service Reform Act] will help put USPS on the road to fiscal stability, make it more efficient and sustainable for generations, and ensure continued service to the American people.”

If you would like to read through the bill in its entirety, you can do so on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform website.

Meanwhile, Democrats Push for $8 Billion to Fund an Electric Delivery Fleet for USPS

While the Postal Service Reform Act moves through the House, a group of Democrats are simultaneously working on garnering additional funding for USPS. A few months ago, USPS awarded a multi-billion dollar contract to Oshkosh Defense to manufacture the next generation of delivery trucks. Soon after the deal became public, USPS didn’t just receive backlash for the design of the trucks; critics also opposed the fact that Oshkosh’s production plan allots for just 10% of the new fleet to be electric.

In response, Democrats introduced separate legislation to grant USPS an additional $6 billion in funding. This funding, if approved, would go towards producing an all-electric delivery fleet, in addition to honoring the existing Oshkosh contract.