The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service is within weeks of defaulting on a legally required $5.5 billion payment into a heath benefits fund for future retirees.
So far, it appears House leaders have no intention of preventing that from happening — they have postponed any action on relief measures until at least fall.
(FULL STORY) Source: Federal Times
(Note: Received in a recent e-mail.)
The United States Senate has Passed the United States Postal Service Bill "21st Century Postal Service Act of 2012" (S1789) by a vote of 62-37.
The Amendment voting results (as I have it) are recorded as either withdrawn, passed, or failed, are posted below.
(R) McCain #2001 Management substitute amendment WITHDRAWN
(D) Tester #2056 Amendment to modify the process of closing or consolidating Post Offices and Postal Facilities. PASSED
**(R) Coburn #2060 Amendment to provide transparency, accountability, and limitations of government sponsored conferences. (not germane to bill) PASSED
(R) McCain #2033 Amendment to establish the Commission on Postal Reorganization (in HR 2309) FAILED
**(D) Wyden-(D) Feinstein #2020 Amendment to require the Postal Service to consider the effect of closing or consolidating a postal facility on the ability of the affected community to vote by mail and to provide Post Offices and Postal Facilities to protect the ability to vote by mail. PASSED
**(R) Coburn #2058 Amendment to alternatives to Post Offices. PASSED
(R) MaCaskill-(D) Merkley #2031 Amendment to prohibit the closing of a rural Post Office unless certain conditions are met and to establish a 2 year moratorium on the closing of rural Post Offices. PASSED
(R) Coburn #2061 Amendment to require retirement eligible employees of the Postal Service to retire. FAILED
(R) Snowe #2080 Amendment to improve, sustain, and transform the United States Postal Service (closures) PASSED
(D) Udall #2043 Amendment to strike the limitations on changes to mail delivery schedule, with an offset. FAILED
**(D) Durbin #2082 Amendment to improve, sustain, and transform the United States Postal Service (closures) PASSED
(D) Akaka #2034 Amendment to replace provisions that would be financially devastating to thousands of Postal workers and Federal employees who were injured on the job and who receive compensation from the OWCP. FAILED
**(D) Bennet-(R) Blunt #2047 Amendment to establish citizen's service protection advocates in each state with respect to facility closures. PASSED
(R) Corker #2083 Amendment negatively impacts six day delivery and Collective Bargaining FAILED
**(D) Mikulski #2003 Amendment to prohibit the USPS from closing any postal facility without certification from the Governor of the state in which the Postal facility is located. WITHDRAWN
(D) Akaka #2049 Amendment to clarify consultative rights of Postmasters and Supervisors FAILED
(R) Paul #2025 Amendment to end the mailbox use monopoly FAILED
(D) Manchin #2079 Amendment to improve, sustain, and transform the USPS (closures) FAILED
**(R) Paul #2026 Amendment to provide merit pay for the PMG and limit the authority of the USPS to award bonuses WITHDRAWN
**(D) Bingamin #2076 Amendment to require that state liaisons for states without a district office are located within their respective states. PASSED
(R) Paul #2027 Amendment to close Post Offices in the Capitol complex PASSED
**(D) Cardin #2040 Amendment to prohibit the closing of a Postal Processing Plant if the nearest Postal facility is more than 50 miles away. WITHDRAWN
(R) Paul #2028 Amendment to establish a pilot program to test alternative methods for the delivery of Postal Services. FAILED
(D) Carper #2065 Amendment to provide for temporary authority to adjust the first class mail stamp rate. WITHDRAWN
**(R) Paul #2029 Amendment to require the USPS to take in consideration the impact of regulations when developing a profitability plan. PASSED
(D) Carper #2066 Amendment to limit the compensation of executives of the Postal Service PASSED
(R) Paul #2039 Amendment to eliminate Collective Bargaining FAILED
(D) Casey #2042 Amendment to maintain current delivery time for market dominated products for 4 years. FAILED
(R) Paul #2038 Amendment to end the Postal Service monopoly on First Class Mail and mailbox use WITHDRAWN
**(D) Landrieu #2072 Amendment to determine the impact of certain Postal Facility closures or consolidations on small businesses PASSED
(R) DeMint #2046 Amendment to cut union income FAILED
**(R) McCaskill #2030 Amendment to improve FECA PASSED
(R) Coburn #2059 Amendment to allow the USPS to close unprofitable Post Office Facilities. WITHDRAWN
**(D) Pryor #2036 Amendment to express the sense of the senate to place a moratorium on Postal Facility closures and consolidations until enactment. PASSED
**(D) Rockefeller #2073 Amendment to clarify retirees cannot be required to enroll in Medicare. PASSED
**(D) Rockefeller #2074 Amendment to ensure the Postal Service Health Benefits Program be comparable to the FEHBP PASSED
(D) Schumer #2050 Amendment to maintain door to door delivery point services PASSED
**(D) Tester #2032 Amendment to limit the pay of Postal Service Executives. PASSED
(D) Warner #2071 Amendment to require reporting regarding retirement processing and modernization. PASSED
I hope the above information has been helpful.
Sam Wood www.swfloridaapwu.org
President - Southwest Florida Area Local / APWU
APWU Web News Article 101-2011, Sept. 15, 2011
APWU President Cliff Guffey condemned USPS plans to study 252 mail processing facilities for possible closure, saying widespread closures would “dismantle the mail-processing network.” On Sept. 14, the USPS released a list of offices where studies will take place.
“The Postal Service should be urging Congress to address the cause of its problems – not slashing service and demolishing its network,” the union president said.
A 2006 law has pushed the USPS to brink of insolvency by imposing a burden on the Postal Service that no other government agency or company bears. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act requires the Postal Service to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of future retirees. The mandate, which forces the agency to pre-fund a 75-year liability in just 10 years, costs the USPS more than $5.5 billion annually.
“The mail processing network is a major asset,” Guffey noted. “Destroying it is misguided and counterproductive.
“Degrading service is not the answer to the Postal Service’s problems,” he said, noting that extensive closures would force the USPS to reduce delivery standards and delay mail delivery. “The Postal Service should be looking for ways to strengthen service and increase its relevance in the age of digital communication.”
Guffey said he was extremely displeased by the Postal Service’s refusal to provide the union with any advance notice of its plans.
