House Approves Postal Reform Bill Jul 27, 2005 4:03 PM
, By John Fischer
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For the first time since the Nixon administration, the House of Representatives has recommended a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service. After only two hours of debate, the House on July 26 approved H.R. 22, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. The vote was a resounding 410 to 20 in favor.
“Quite simply, the laws that govern the Postal Service are outdated and unsuited for today’s competitive environment,” said Government Reform Committee chairman Tom Davis (R-VA). “This not only represents the first big step to bring the Postal Service into the 21st century but also gives us our best chance at solving the structural, legal, and financial constraints that have brought the Postal Service the brink of utter breakdown.”
After an August recess, the Senate will likely consider its version of the bill, S. 662. Clearly there are no guarantees that the bill will be as well received there, but mailers remain hopeful.
“I’m optimistic,” says Neal Denton, executive director of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers. “I think we may have just taken an important step in overcoming a major obstacle. Part of this reform has to revert back to mailers in the form of rate relief.”
Among other changes, H.R. 22 would simplify the rate-setting process and ensure that annual increases do not exceed annual changes in the Consumer Price Index. It would also provide the USPS with the flexibility to become more competitive, rather than under a break-even mandate. And in its present state, H.R. 22 would make the Treasury Department, rather than the Postal Service, responsible for the military pensions of postal retirees—a move that the Bush administration has opposed.
“For too long the Postal Service has been forced to operate with one hand tied behind its back,” says Denton. “Hopefully this decision is the first step toward changing all of that.”
