Office of Personnel Management Deputy Director Dan G.
Blair testified before the Senate Committee on
Governmental Affairs opposing further relief–$27
billion of it–for the U.S. Postal Service in paying
retirement costs associated with employee military service.
The Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform
Act of 2003 grants the Postal Service $78 billion in pension
fund relief and full funding of postal Civil Service
Retirement System costs, said Blair, who argued that the
right governmental response to agency under-funding is to
require agencies to pay the full cost of CSRS.
In commenting on a recommendation to transfer pension
liabilities elsewhere–part of a broader package of
recommendations on postal reform developed under President
Clinton–Blair pointed out that a CSRS bailout would
likely lead to a FERS bailout in the future and argued
that making an exception for the Postal Service in the
case of pension obligations is a move in the wrong direction.
