The House has passed major postal reform legislation,
the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, by a
vote of 410 — 20, bringing the Postal Service one step
closer to its first overhaul since President Nixon
signed the Postal Reorganization Act in 1970.
Introduced in January by Government Reform Committee
chairman, Tom Davis, R-Va., and Rep. John M. McHugh,
R-N.Y., the bill returns the responsibility to fund
postal retiree pensions to the Department of
Treasury, something the bill’s supporters say is
key to long-term solvency, but a move the White
House opposes.
“The legislation we are considering today is the
culmination of a decade of hard work and study, not
to mention a great deal of bipartisan negotiation
and cooperation,” said Davis.
“Consequently, HR-22 now represents our best chance
at solving the structural, legal, and financial
constraints that have brought the Postal Service to
the brink of utter breakdown,” he said.
Other major provisions in the bill include freeing
up $73 billion in civil service retirement savings
held in an escrow account — also opposed by the
White House — and allowing USPS to use the money
to hold off rate increases, a provision to tie rate
increases for market-dominant products roughly to
the consumer price index, and a provision giving the
newly named postal regulatory commission subpoena
power and a broader regulation and oversight role.
The bill would also allow USPS to keep what it earns
above operating costs and use it as performance
incentives for managers.
“Failing to pass the legislation essentially imposes
a 5.4 percent tax on every transaction with the Postal
Service,” Davis warned, echoing some USPS officials.