May 17, 2021

Congress Takes Significant Steps to Strengthen the Postal Service

The U.S. Senate confirmed two of President Biden’s nominees to the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors last week: Ron Stroman, a former deputy postmaster general, and Amber McReynolds, chief executive of the National Vote at Home Institute. A third nominee, former American Postal Workers Union (APWU) General Counsel Anton Hajjar, is still awaiting confirmation.

On Thursday the House Committee on Oversight and Reform passed the 2021 Postal Reform Act, with bipartisan support. The bill still must be passed by the full House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

APWU President Mark Dimondstein released a statement that said the bill “will place USPS on the path toward financial stability by taking the critical step of repealing the unfair pre-funding mandate, adding much-needed transparency to the Postal Service, and enacting prospective Medicare integration. The pre-funding mandate requires USPS to fully pre-fund retirement health benefits for future postal workers who have not even been born yet. This burden—which no other organization is forced to bear—is responsible for 84 percent of the Postal Service’s net losses since 2007.”

“Older Americans rely on the Post Office to deliver their prescription drugs and other critical mail,” said Joseph Peters, Jr,. Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “The activism of thousands of Alliance members who attended demonstrations and wrote to their members of Congress helped make this happen. We need to keep the pressure on until this bill is signed by President Biden.”