Senators reach bipartisan deal to reform USPS finances, tighten accountability requirements

[Nevilledog]

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Matthew Chapman
@fawfulfan
This is fascinating. Apparently there is now bipartisan support for repealing the Bush-era USPS sabotage that forced them to pre-pay postal workers' retirement benefits. Even DeJoy supports it.

Senators reach bipartisan deal to reform USPS finances, tighten accountability requirements
A bipartisan group of Senators are introducing a bill to help the ailing U.S. Postal Service while tightening accountability requirements for mail delivery. The bill has bipartisan support.
washingtonpost.com
12:40 PM · May 19, 2021

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/05/19/usps-senate-bipartisan-agreement/

A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Wednesday to lift significant financial burdens off the ailing U.S. Postal Service while tightening accountability requirements for mail delivery, a major stride for an agency that has tussled with its balance sheet and reputation for the better part of a year.

The bill, identical to a version that has advanced in the House, would repeal $5 billion a year in mandatory retiree health-care expenses and require future postal retirees to enroll in Medicare. Advocates say the measures would save the agency $30 billion over the next decade.

The bill would also see the Postal Service develop a public online mail delivery performance dashboard where customers could view the agency’s on-time delivery metrics by Zip code each week.

Pushed by Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who lead the Senate Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee, the legislation has enough bipartisan co-sponsors to give it a pathway to passage in the bitterly divided chamber.

*snip*

[msongs]

1. repubs cutting a deal to save deJoy's job as postal head? nt

[Faux pas]

2. Kickin'

[PortTack]

3. Dejoyless probably thinks by supporting this, he'll save his position. Only to later do something

Worse!

[MichMan]

4. It was passed in 2006 by unanimous consent. Wonder how many still serving voted for it back then?

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

5. I know Susan Collins is one because

she helped push it through the Senate back in 2006. I wonder how she'll vote this time if it passes the House.

[zaj]

6. WTF? It was crazy sabotage at the time

Not some unintended consequence. Deliberate.

No way that Dems supported that.

[MichMan]

7. Again, it passed by unanimous voice vote with zero objections

That means President Biden, Senator Schumer and Speaker Pelosi among 100% of all their colleagues all voted in favor. They would need to explain their actions that day as would all members of congress.

The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) is a United States federal statute enacted by the 109th United States Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 20, 2006.

The bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Tom Davis, a Republican from Virginia, and cosponsored by Republican John M. McHugh of New York and Democrats Henry Waxman of California and Danny K. Davis of Illinois. As the chair of the Senate Oversight committee, Senator Susan Collins of Maine shepherded the bill's passage through the Senate. The bill was approved during the lame duck session of the 109th Congress, and approved without objection via voice vote.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Accountability_and_Enhancement_Act#cite_note-pascrell-4