Senators Call on Leaders to Pass Postal Reform Bill

"...The letter does not ask the House to approve the Senate-passed bill, S. 1789, but does indicate that the senators clearly prefer their bill as a way forward. The senators said that rather than risk USPS closures, their bill would give the service access to money it has overpaid into its retirement fund, and use that money to encourage the retirement of 100,000 workers, which would lead to long-term savings...

The Senate bill, which passed last week in a 62-37 vote, is very different from the leading House GOP bill, H.R. 2309. That proposal, from House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), would set up a commission to recommend closures, authorize USPS to move to a five-day delivery system, and end a current rule that prohibits the closure of an office solely because it's operating at a deficit..."

Read more at thehill.com

Senate Approved Postal Reform Bill

"...The Senate approved a bipartisan bill Wednesday aiming to restructure the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service, clearing the way for a massive reduction in the agency's workforce.

The final bill, passed by the Senate in a 62-37 vote, refunds to USPS overpayments it made to the federal retirement system. That will allow the agency to pay for buyouts for some 100,000 retirement-eligible employees. The bill also allows USPS to negotiate with its unions about moving postal employees out of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan and into a separate insurance program..."

Read more at FederalNewsRadio.com"

Forced Retirement Amendment Voted Down in Senate

"...A measure that would have required eligible postal service employees to retire without buyout incentives failed in the Senate on Tuesday. The amendment, introduced this week by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., would have reduced the cash-strapped agency’s expenses by reducing its large percentage of retirement-eligible workers. It failed in a 33-65 vote..."

Read more at GovExec.com

Postal Reform Bill Amendment Would Address OPM Backlog

"...An amendment to a Senate bill restructuring the U.S. Postal Service's financial framework would institute new agency reporting requirements for retiring federal workers, anticipating a "deluge of retirees," from USPS.

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), introduced last week an amendment to the 21st Century Postal Service Act of 2012 (S. 1789), that requires the Office of Personnel Management to take new steps to chip away at a longstanding backlog of federal retirement claims.

In a floor speech Monday, Warner said his office has received hundreds of requests from federal retirees who have faced long waits and "inordinate hardship ... while their retirement paperwork moves through the system."

The amendment requires OPM to submit monthly public reports to lawmakers and the Government Accountability Office evaluating USPS retirement claims — for timeliness, completeness and accuracy — compared to other federal agencies..."

Read more at FederalNewsRadio.com

Senator's Amendment Would Force USPS Retirements

"...Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is shepherding a few amendments to S. 1789, including one that would force the Postal Service to dismiss workers who are eligible for retirement to reduce expenses. The legislation in its current form allows USPS to offer buyouts to eligible employees to reduce personnel costs, but Coburn believes requiring eligible workers to retire is a smarter and more cost-effective downsizing strategy...

The amendment would apply only to postal employees currently eligible to receive a full pension under the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Employees Retirement System. Coburn cited mandatory retirement for federal law enforcement officers as a potential model for the Postal Service..."

Read more at GovExec.com

Senator Sessions Seeks to Block Postal Reform Bill

"...A key Senate Republican is seeking to block a postal reform bill he argues would require the government to borrow billions more, at a time when the government is already borrowing $1 trillion a year...

Sessions said he would raise a budget point of order to block the Senate bill this week...The point of order has the potential to throw off Senate work this week on the 21st Century Postal Service act..."

Read more at The Hill's Floor Action

GAO Warns Congress Must Act Soon on Postal Reform

"...With lawmakers poised to act as soon as next week on legislation overhauling the U.S. Postal Service, a new government audit published Thursday once again warns Congress that it must act soon to help the cash-strapped agency save billions of dollars in the next four years...

The Senate plan, cosponsored by Sens. Thomas Carper (D-Del.), Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Scott Brown (R-Mass.) would delay the Postal Service’s move to a five-day delivery schedule by two years and require the agency to downsize, rather than close, its processing facilities... the Senate proposal also provides about $7 billion to provide employee buyouts of up to $25,000 to as many as 100,000 eligible workers — a plan that could help USPS meet cost-cutting goals, the report said."

Read more at The Washington Post

Postal Reform legislation delayed until after break

"...the Senate voted down the cloture motion on the postal reform bill, 51-46. Thirty-nine Republicans and seven Democrats voted to keep the legislation from the floor.

Despite the postal reform bill’s failure on Tuesday, it is likely the Senate will take it up after the break which is set to begin on Thursday or Friday..."

The vote was aimed to prevent the Senate from moving off the Democrats’ pending bill to levy about $24 billion in additional taxes on the domestic oil industry.

The vote followed Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) McConnell’s comments:

“[W]e’re now hearing that the Democrats want to move off this tax hike legislation… we’re certainly not going to make a difference if we keep flitting from one issue to another."

Read more at thehill.com

Procedural vote on Postal Reform Bill

"...The fate of USPS also is tied to the federal budget, because the agency pays into federal retirement and health-care accounts to compensate active and retired postal workers.

The Senate plans to hold a cloture vote Monday to proceed to debate on a bill cosponsored by Lieberman and Sens. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Scott Brown (R-Mass.) that would permit the end of Saturday mail deliveries, the closure of thousands of post offices and hundreds of processing centers, allow USPS to raise stamp prices beyond the rate of inflation and explore new business opportunities..."

Read more at The Washington Post

Senate could take up postal reform bill next week

"...Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., introduced a motion that would allow senators to take up the bill, known as the 21st Century Postal Service Act, as early as Monday. Although everything in the Senate (and we mean everything) is subject to change, Reid presumably wouldn’t have proceeded without some chance of having the votes to kick off debate.

At the same time, it’s worth noting that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., isn’t commenting. Lawmakers could also have to placate Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who announced today that she’ll seek to block consideration of the bill over concerns about how the U.S. Postal Service is handling the proposed closure of a mail processing plant in her state..."

Read more at The Federal Times Blog

Senator Collins addresses Senate on Postal Reform

"...U.S. Senator Susan Collins today, from the Senate floor, outlined the importance of the bipartisan postal reform bill she has cosponsored with Senators Joe Lieberman (I/D-CT), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Scott Brown (R-MA)..."

Read more at the PostalReporter News Blog

Anticipation of postal reform in coming weeks

"...Senate Bill 1789 – the 21st Century Postal Service Act – passed out of committee last November, seeking to reform healthcare and pension funding at the US Postal Service, and assist restructuring, to restore its financial sustainability in the light of drastically reduced mail volumes.

The Bill, which sought to delay any move to abandon Saturday deliveries by at least two years, has since stalled on its way to a hearing in front of the full Senate..."

Read more at presort.com

USPS cuts and Postal Service Act of 2011

"...Collins' legislation would give the Postmaster General access to the money the postal service has overpaid into one of its pension funds -- Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) -- and use it to offer buyouts or retirement incentives to..."

Read more at abcnews.go.com

USPS cuts & proposed bill

"...She urged passage of a bill that would refund nearly $7 billion that the Postal Service overpaid into a federal retirement fund. The bill also would encourage a restructuring of ..."

Read more at dispatch.com