March 08, 2022

Retiree Organization Applauds House, Senate Passage of Bipartisan Postal Reform Bill

Legislation will shore up USPS finances, save $50 billion over ten years

Statement by Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, regarding passage by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate of H.R. 3076, the 2021 Postal Reform Act:

“Older Americans rely on the U.S. Postal Service for timely at-home delivery of medications and important mail on weekdays and weekends. It can trace its roots to 1775, when Benjamin Franklin was the first postmaster general, and it is as important today as it ever was.

“The House of Representatives’ vote in February and the Senate’s vote today passing the 2021 Postal Reform Act will help ensure that the Postal Service will be able to serve the American people for years to come.

“Once signed into law, H.R. 3076 will repeal the Congressional mandate that the USPS spend billions of dollars every year to prefund retiree health care. The Postal Service will instead pay these costs on a yearly basis, as other government agencies and corporations do, saving nearly $50 billion over 10 years.

“Strengthening the Postal Service has been an Alliance priority for years. The activism of thousands of Alliance members who have attended demonstrations and written to their members of Congress has helped bring us to this moment.

“We look forward to President Biden signing the bill into law, as administration officials have indicated he intends to do.”

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Contact: Lisa Cutler, lcutler@retiredamericans.org