Updated 4/6/2022: Today, April 6th, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 mentioned in the original Arandell Postal Update from March 10th below. This is a landmark piece of legislation that represents the culmination of more than a decade of work to provide the Postal Service with much needed financial flexibility, while still simultaneously protecting the earned health benefits of postal and federal workers and retirees.
In the biggest news regarding postal reform in over a decade, the Senate on Tuesday night passed the Postal Service Reform Act with sweeping bipartisanship (79 to 19). The bill is now sent to President Biden’s desk for final review and approval before being signed into law.
The legislation initially appeared in the House last month, where it also passed by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 342-92. However, it was delayed from being voted on in the Senate after a non-vital clerical error was revealed and made to be corrected. Lawmakers stated that this bill, which has been in the making for more than 15 years, will finally help the Postal Service turnaround from insurmountable losses over the last decade.
The bill would repeal many of the more damaging elements to the Postal Service that were introduced in the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act in 2006. These long-awaited measures, which are included in the bill, will save the USPS nearly $50 billion over the next decade, according to the House Oversight Committee.
The following are among the most prominent cost-saving measures outlined in the bill:
- Eliminates the mandate to prefund retiree health care cost years in advance,
- Requires retired postal employees to enroll in Medicare,
- Mandates a minimum 6-day/week delivery for all mail and packages,
- Ensures development of an online delivery service performance dashboard.
- Allows state & local licensing services helpful to Americans and reduces newspaper mailing fees.
As outlined above, only one final barrier remains for the bill to become law, which is for President Biden to provide his approval using his signature. It is expected that President Biden will sign in the coming weeks.
The Postal Service is one of the country’s oldest government institutions — however, the USPS does not receive taxpayer funding, and instead must rely solely on revenue from stamps, business mail postage, and package delivery revenues.
Arandell congratulates the ACMA in its continuous efforts with Congress and for fiercely advocating on behalf of catalog mailers, working diligently to engage other industry stakeholders and the mailing community at large to help influence the passing of this most needed postal reform legislation.
