National Association of Postal Supervisors Legislative and Regulatory Update - August 7, 2008


In this Issue:

• NAPS Challenges USPS Network Plan, Questions USPS Outsourcing

• Preserve Universal Service and the Mailbox Monopoly, NAPS Tells the PRC

• USPS Announces Greater Quarterly Loss Than Expected

NAPS Challenges USPS Network Plan, Questions USPS Outsourcing

The National Association of Postal Supervisors has questioned the Postal Service's plans for the use of contracting out in realigning its mail processing and distribution network and has encouraged Congress to ask the Postal Service where it's
headed in its reliance on private contractors to process and transport mail.

In an August 5 letter to Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), chairman of the House panel that oversees the Postal Service, NAPS President Ted Keating challenged the Network Plan the Postal Service recently sent to Congress and the Service's lack of explanation of the role it intends outsourcing to play in modernizing mail processing and transportation activity.  Keating pointed to USPS efforts to contract-out processing and transportation operations at its Bulk Mail Centers as raising significant policy concerns that "could represent a significant step toward the privatization of postal operations."

The Postal Service on July 1 issued a draft Request for Proposal to create a "Time Definite Surface Network" (TDSN) that envisions outsourcing all mail processing and transportation activity currently performed by the 21 BMCs within the USPS mail network, starting with those in Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, St. Paul, Atlanta and Seattle.  Bulk Mail Centers are highly mechanized mail processing plants that distribute parcel post, media mail, standard mail and periodicals in bulk form.

"If BMC activity is ultimately outsourced through the TDSN initiative, does the Postal Service intend to extend outsourcing to all of its Processing and Distribution Centers and related transportation activities?" Keating asked Congress.  "What is the ultimate goal?  Is this the first phase of wider reliance on privatization of mail processing and distribution?  Does the Service ultimately intend to contract out all processing and distribution of mail, if it believes that service standards and customer service can be maintained at acceptable levels?"

Keating also took aim at the USPS Network Plan itself, criticizing USPS for providing few new details to Congress, which mandated in the 2006 postal reform law that the Postal Service provide a comprehensive report on how intended to modernize the processing/transportation backbone of the postal network.  Keating called the plan the USPS sent to Congress a "strategy without a destination."  "The Postal Service's faith in a 'fluid approach' toward network realignment, as evidenced in the Network Plan," Keating said, "is largely a continuation of the zigzagging we have witnessed since 2001, from the Network Integration and Alignment program, to the Evolutionary Network Development program, to the most recent efforts involving ill-fated Regional Distribution Centers."  

"There is one potentially distinct difference in the latest iteration, however," Keating warned.  "The single-most important development in the Network Plan is the one whose possible consequences are left the most unaddressed.  Left unanswered is the role of outsourcing in the Postal Service's vision of network realignment and whether the Service intends to apply outsourcing toward the entirety of its processing and distribution operations ..."  "We regard these omissions as flaws in the transparency and completeness of the Network Plan, as well as the creation of understanding by the Postal Service stakeholders and the public of the implications of these steps."

Keating encouraged the Postal Service to provide answers to the Congress and postal stakeholders, including the Postal Regulatory Commission, and explain the relationship between the TDSN outsourcing initiative and future efforts to modernize and cut costs in USPS processing and distribution centers and other facilities in the mail network.

The potential for USPS outsourcing to private contractors of the responsibility for processing and distribution of mail, in light of stalled USPS efforts to privatize mail delivery, holds huge implications -- both financial and political -- for the USPS, not to mention its 700,000 employee workforce.  There are well over 300 processing and distribution plants in the Postal Service's mail network, providing jobs to tens of thousands of postal workers and economic heft to the surrounding communities in which the plants are located.  At the same time, considerable excess capacity in many plants exists, worsened by the continued decline in mail volume, likely necessitating further facility consolidations and closures, even if the work continues to remain within the Postal Service.

At a July 24 hearing of the House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia on the USPS Network Plan, Subcommittee Chairman Danny Davis in his opening remarks focused on the need for USPS to adopt a smarter approach toward downsizing the postal network, saying, "For this effort to be successful the Postal Service MUST do a better job of realigning its processing and transportation networks, improve the data used in its computerized and statistical modeling, and minimize service disruptions.  Failure to prevent and predict service problems will result in poor mail delivery, which in turn will anger the public and trigger political considerations."


Preserve Universal Service and the Mailbox Monopoly, NAPS Tells the PRC

Urging the Postal Regulatory Commission to listen to the scores of witnesses over the past two months who have urged the continuation of current national policy that guarantees postal service to all Americans, no matter where they live or work, NAPS President Ted Keating last week told the Postal Regulatory Commission that "there is broad public consensus for the preservation of the universal service obligation and the postal monopoly." 

Keating's remarks were part of comments filed by NAPS with the Commission, in connection with the PRC's inquiry (Pl2008-3) into the future of the universal service obligation and the USPS monopoly on First-Class Mail.  The PRC is required by the 2006 postal reform law to report to Congress by December 19 on its findings and recommendations growing out of its inquiry.

Keating also encouraged the PRC to affirm the value of six-day mail delivery.  "Unless the Commission finds that there are cost savings and collateral merit so significant as to convincingly demonstrate the viability of an alternative delivery schedule," Keating said, "six-day delivery should also remain the norm."  "The public expects no less."

Noting that FedEx and the National Newspaper Association had urged the PRC to relax the mailbox monopoly and permit homeowners to indicate whether they would like to receive unstamped mail from registered companies in their mailboxes, Keating urged the Commission to turn down that approach and "affirm and maintain the privacy and integrity of the mail through preservation of the mailbox rule."  That approach, which gives USPS exclusive access to all mailboxes, would extend the same policy that the Congress and the President embraced in enacting the 2006 postal reform law, Keating noted.


USPS Announces Greater Quarterly Loss Than Expected

A continued decline in mail volume, aggravated by a national economic slowdown and higher fuel prices, pushed the Postal Service further into the red for the last quarter, the USPS announced yesterday.  The loss mirrors what's been going on in the logistics and mailing industry and throughout the nation. 

The USPS ended its third quarter (April 1 - June 30) with a greater-than-expected loss of $1.1 billion.  Mail volume dropped by 5.5 percent compared to the same period last year.  First-Class Mail and Standard Mail volume were each down 5.5 percent, reflecting the "challenging economic environment," USPS said.

"When the economy does rebound, mail volume may not return to previous levels," Postmaster General John Potter warned in a statement.  "This requires that we significantly accelerate process improvements and the realignment of resources in order to achieve long-term financial success.  Failure to do so will threaten our ability to meet our mission of providing universal service at affordable prices."

While USPS operating expenses inched upward only 1 percent for the quarter, despite substantial increases in gasoline costs, operating revenue fell by nearly 2.4 percent, a decrease of $437 million compared to the same period last year.

The good news was that on-time delivery performance reached record highs for all categories of First-Class Mail tracked by the Postal Service.  Overnight service was 97 percent on time, up from 96 percent in the same period last year.

Financial uncertainties further prompted the Postal Service to refrain from announcing a pricing structure for its use of the Intelligent Mail Barcode, which USPS continues to promise will be ready for use by mailers in May, 2009.  " ... [G]iven the volatility of the economy, decreasing mail volumes and our own financial situation, it would be premature for us to commit to a pricing structure for the Intelligent Mail barcode at this time," Tom Day, Senior Vice President, Intelligent Mail and Address Quality told the Mailers' Technical Advisory Committee yesterday.

For the Postal Service, Intelligent Mail and the underlying intelligent mail barcode is the greatest thing since sliced bread.  It is expected to revolutionize the way USPS accepts, processes and transports mail, by informing mailers when a piece of mail enters the mail stream and journeys through the postal network and into the hands of the intended recipient.


Bruce Moyer
Legislative Counsel to NAPS
 

National Association of Postal Supervisors Legislative and Regulatory Update - July 31, 2008

House Approves FERS Sick Leave and Thrift Savings Reforms

The House of Representatives has approved legislation http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.01108: that would give employees covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System largely the same retirement credit for unused sick leave as already applies to workers covered under the older Civil Service Retirement System.  Also included in the House-passed measure are improvements to the Thrift Savings Plan.  The conferral of FERS sick leave credit has been a legislative goal of the National Association of Postal Supervisors.  

The FERS sick leave approach approved by the House last night is more generous than that originally proposed in FERS sick leave legislation http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.05573: introduced earlier this year by Rep. James Moran (D-VA) http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR06500:@@@L&summ2=m&.  Under the measure approved by the House, FERS employees who retire within three years of the bill's enactment would receive service credit, in the computation of their pension, for 75 percent of their accrued sick leave at the time of retirement.  Those who retire three years after enactment would receive 100% credit for all of their unused sick leave.  Moran's original proposal would have provided a cash payout to FERS employees of up to $10,000 for unused sick leave.

Delighted with the more generous approach approved by the House, Congressman Moran in a statement http://moran.house.gov/apps/list/press/va08_moran/SickLeavePass.shtml said, "Our current use-it or lose-it sick leave system for FERS employees hurts productivity and increases training costs."  "We need to be incentivizing the accrual of sick leave, not encouraging people to call in sick in the weeks leading up to retirement.  With today's passage, we're putting FERS employees on par with their CSRS colleagues, replacing a flawed approach to sick leave with one proven to work in everybody's favor."

The FERS sick leave provisions were included in a larger measure approved by the House that would grant the Food and Drug Administration authority over tobacco products.  The bill, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1110 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.01108), was approved by a 326-102 vote <http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll542.xml.  It would require the FDA to regulate the labeling and advertising of tobacco products and ban flavored cigarettes excluding menthol.

The tobacco measure also includes provisions that would improve the Thrift Savings Plan, including the automatic enrollment into the TSP of of newly-hired eligible federal and postal employees and members of the military.  It also would authorize the Federal Thrift Retirement Investment Board to establish a Roth contribution plan and self-directed investment options within the TSP.  It is the addition of the Roth contribution plan option that, under Congressional budget scoring rules, would provide additional federal revenue,  making possible the more generous, CSRS-like FERS sick leave formula.  The Roth revenue also offsets the loss of  federal tobacco taxes from an anticipated decline in smoking.

The tobacco bill, including the FERS and TSP provisions, now moves to the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain.  The bill enjoyed wide bipartisan support in the House, but few days remain in the legislative calendar, and Republican leaders and the Bush administration are opposed to the tobacco provisions.  The White House has threatened to veto the bill, arguing that it would disproportionately tax low-income Americans, through user fees assessed against tobacco companies to raise funds to underwrite FDA's regulatory efforts.  The Postal Supervisors and other postal and federal employee groups will continue to push for enactment.

Bruce Moyer

Legislative Counsel, National Association of Postal Supervisors

National Association of Postal Supervisors Legislative and Regulatory Update -- July 7, 2008

In this Issue:

*     Postal Service Seeks Early Out Authority as Restructuring Plans Emerge

*     Congress Pursues Pared-Down Agenda

*     House Panel Approves Five-Day Delivery Study

*     NAPS to Urge Preservation of Universal Service

Postal Service Seeks Early Out Authority as Restructuring Plans Emerge

The Postal Service reportedly has requested Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) -- more commonly known as "early out authority" -- from the Office of Personnel Management, to seek permission to temporarily lower the age and service requirements to increase the number of USPS employees eligible for retirement. 

Details on the VERA request are sketchy, but the pursuit of VERA is not surprising, given the need for the Postal Service to pursue significant cost-cutting moves to offset falling First-Class mail volume and rising costs, especially as soaring gas prices flatten USPS profits. 

VERA theoretically encourages more voluntary attrition in order to permit an agency to pursue downsizing and restructuring with minimal workforce disruption.  Acceptance rates by Postal employees to early-out offers in past restructuring efforts have been mixed at best.

According to unconfirmed reports, the Postal Service will target the next round of early-out offers to specific areas, but without the aid of buyouts or additional financial incentives to sweeten their appeal.

The Postal Service also recently announced plans to continue efforts to reorganize its processing and transportation networks, potentially leading to the elimination of significant numbers of jobs, starting at airport mail centers (AMCs), and continuing to mail processing plants and bulk mail centers.  In a "network rationalization report" released to Congress on June 20, the Postal Service revealed few details on which facilities would be identified for further consolidation, indicating it planned to continue to asses the feasibility of further restructuring through the use of "recently enhanced" AMP guidelines. 

The USPS  also announced in the report that it would continue to explore the potential of outsourcing the processing and transportation of mail  in the Bulk Mail Center network through its Time-Definite Surface Network program.  As Federal Times recently reported, the Postal Service also may outsource some BMC sorting functions to private companies, reportedly to free up space to install Flats Sequence System equipment. 

The Postal Service indicated it could take up to two years to further solicit expert and public opinion to decide which plants and BMCs to realign. 

Congress Pursues Pared-Down Agenda

Congress returns this week from its July 4th recess, with relatively little time remaining in the session to accomplish much besides passing housing foreclosure assistance and terrorism wiretapping bills -- and continue to engage in partisan sniping as November's elections draw closer. 

A "pared-down summer agenda" is how the Washington Post described the work likely to get done in the abbreviated election-year calendar, with lawmakers departing tin August for a month-long break and the two parties' presidential conventions , followed in September by posturing over FY 2009 budget issues, with adjournment in early October for the final campaign stretch.

That means that most, if not all of the issues promoted by NAPS -- from voting by mail, to Social Security fairness (GPO/WEP), to premium conversion, to veterans reassignment protection, will likely be punted into 2009 and the 111th Congress.

House Panel Approves Five-Day Delivery Study

The House Appropriations Committee has approved an amendment requiring the Postal Service to study the merits of a five-day delivery system, both in terms of its cost-effectiveness and its impact on fuel consumption.  The provision was added to the FY 2009 Financial Services and General Government appropriations measure, approved by the Committee on June 25.  The bill, which includes nearly $112 million in funding for the Postal Service, now goes to the full House for approval; the Senate has not acted on its funding bill.

The five-day delivery study requirement was proposed by Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) , who in a statement said, "I’ve been trying to get the postal service to end Saturday delivery for years."  "It's a perfect example of government waste that is driving up the price at the pump.  I can't think of the last time I got anything but a bill in the mail and, frankly, those can wait until Monday.  Now my kids get all of their bills by email.  What other way can the government immediately save 20.8 million galls of gas thereby reducing consumption and gas prices?"

Kingston, a conservative Congressman from southeastern Georgia who, during his 16 years in Congress, has crusaded for smaller government, estimated that the Postal Service would annually conserve nearly 21 million gallons of gasoline and save $85 million on fuel costs through five-day delivery...  "This is just one way to bring down the cost of fuel," Kingston said.  "While some oppose this idea, this study will at least give us hard numbers on which we can make an informed decision."

The Congress has mandated that the Postal Service provide six-day delivery to all parts of the country since 1983, through a requirement inserted in annual appropriations measures.  Even if Congress refrained from continuing the six-day-delivery requirement, and the USPS sought to move to five-day delivery, the Postal Regulatory Commission would still need to approve the change.

NAPS to Urge Preservation of Universal Service

NAPS President Ted Keating on Thursday will urge the Postal Regulatory Commission  to lend its support to the preservation of the universal service obligation and the postal monopoly.  Keating's remarks will call upon the Commission to affirm the well-established principle that all Americans, no matter where they live, are entitled to secure, efficient and affordable postal service.

Mr. Keating will appear with the presidents of several other postal employee organizations before the Commission at a hearing at the PRC's headquarters on Thursday morning, July 10.  The hearing is the fourth of a series of hearings the PRC has held around the country, as it prepares its study on the universal service obligation and the postal monopoly.  The report, due to Congress in mid-December, is required by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. 

Bruce Moyer

NAPS Legislative Counsel

Postal Legislative Update
National Association of Postal Supervisors - June 25, 2007

NAPS Endorses Harkin Bill to Ban Contracting Out of Delivery Services; House Prepares to Avoid Its Obligation to Repay the Postal Service (Again): (NAPS and Others Protest); Triple-Play Postal Hearings Set for July; Legislative Update on Bills Supported by NAPS

Triple-Play Postal Hearings Set for July

July will be a busy month on Capitol Hill for postal advocates. Before Congress adjourns for the August recess, the House and Senate subcommittees that oversee the Postal Service will hold three oversight hearings on postal issues. They'll fall during a one-week period in the second half of July. NAPS will testify at or closely monitor each of these hearings:

Thursday, July 19: Postal contracting out and privatization - House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia

Wednesday, July 25: Postal oversight, featuring the views of postal management groups and the postal employee unions - Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management of Government Information and National Security

Thursday, July 26: Postal delivery standards and infrastructure realignment - House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia
 

Legislative Update

Postal Legislative Update
National Association of Postal Supervisors - August 1, 2006


Herseth Introduces Bill to Stop Postal Service Circumvention of Veterans' Preference Laws

Legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Stephanie Herseth (D-SD) to assure that military veterans employed by the Postal Service and throughout the federal government receive the guarantee of veterans preference job protections during downsizing actions.  Congresswoman Herseth, a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, introduced the Veterans Reassignment Protection Act, HR 5894, on July 26.

The legislation confronts Postal Service downsizing rules that apply to managerial and supervisory employees -- which USPS calls "repositioning rules" -- that avoid the application of veterans preference job protection priorities to military veteran employees.  USPS contends that federal law does not require the application of veterans preference job retention priorities to repositioning actions because veterans preference rules, according to the Postal Service, apply only during a reduction-in-force or RIF, not a "repositioning personnel action." 

The Herseth measure destroys the USPS rationale by requiring that any military veteran employee of the federal government (including the Postal Service), who becomes subject to an involuntary geographic reassignment outside the commuting area during the course of a reorganization or transfer of function, receive the choice of accepting the reassignment or the opportunity to contest the reassignment in the same manner as a RIF. 

The National Association of Postal Supervisors immediately endorsed the Herseth legislation and called upon Congress to pass it.  NAPS President Ted Keating said, "The rights and protections of our nation's veterans, especially in light of their continuing sacrifice in Iraq, Afghanistan and other dangerous lands, should never be abridged or compromised. Rep. Herseth's legislation is significant because it confronts the thinly veiled attempt of the Postal Service to avoid the spirit of veterans preference rules.  The measure treats any RIF of federal and postal employees for what it is.  We New Englanders have always said 'If it looks like a duck and waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck.'  We applaud Stephanie Herseth for her vision in doing the right thing."   

NAPS President Keating urged NAPS members to reach out to their Members of the House of Representatives during the Congressional recess in August to urge them to become cosponsors of the Herseth legislation, HR 5894.


Bruce Moyer
Legislative Counsel to National Association of Postal Supervisors
Congressman Introduces Bill to Stop Postal Service Circumvention of Veterans' Preference Laws
 

Postal Legislative Update
National Association of Postal Supervisors
July 26, 2006


White House, Mailer and UPS Demands Threaten Postal Reform 

    Postal reform’s fragile footing in the Congress edged perilously closer to failure this week, due to White House, mailer and UPS pressures that threaten the viability of a final postal overhaul bill.  Administration and mailer insistence on the inclusion of the Senate-passed ratemaking exigency language, along with UPS threats to oppose any bill that doesn’t open-up competition on single-piece parcels, have dramatically complicated the outlook for postal reform, with relatively little time remaining in the session.    

     These developments cast increasing doubt whether a final postal reform bill can earn the support of the Postal Supervisors and other postal employee groups, should House and Senate leaders bend to the demands of the White House, mailers and UPS.  Assessing the situation, National Association of Postal Supervisors President Ted Keating said, “We always have supported sensible postal reform that assures the long-term viability of the Postal Service, but we will never support reform simply for the sake of reform.  NAPS members should remain on alert to help defeat any short-sighted postal measure that could arise.”            

    Conference talks between House and Senate delegations have still not officially begun, but discussions over past weeks between the Administration and the “Postal Big Four” Congressional leaders – Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), Representative Tom Davis (R-VA) and Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) -- have attempted largely to shape a final bill.

    Several major differences remain, including the elimination of the CSRS escrow account, restoring the Treasury’s liability for the CSRS military service credit, and controversial labor arbitration changes.  House Speaker Dennis Hastert has insisted on reaching an accord with the White House on the shape of a final bill before appointing House conferees.  The White House has not budged in its demands, and in fact continues to add issues to its list of priorities. 

    One of the most contentious issues involves how the postal rate-setting process will work.  Both the House and Senate postal reform bills envision future postal rates to be set by a streamlined price-indexing system, pegged to inflation.  The controversy lies over how flexible the price cap should become in unforeseen or “exigency” situations. 

    All postal employee groups, including NAPS, favor the approach contained in the House-approved bill, which takes account of a wider set of exceptional circumstances (for example, congressional budget actions, natural disasters, unusual price spikes) that would lift the price cap, if the viability of postal service were endangered.  Mailers insist on adoption of the less flexible Senate approach, which permits the price cap to be lifted only in “unexpected and extraordinary” emergencies, like the 9-11 or anthrax attacks.  The hard cap set by the Senate bill would place considerably greater pressure on the Postal Service to absorb unforeseen external costs, more likely forcing employee layoffs and concessions at the bargaining table, rather than cost-sharing with mailers and other users of the system. 

    All of the employee groups -- NAPS, the postmaster groups and the unions – have repeatedly made it clear to the “Big Four” Congressional leaders their support for the House exigency approach.  A March 16 letter from the three postal management groups and the four unions to the Big Four underscored the critical importance of the exigency issue and continued market-dominant treatment of single-piece parcels. 

    Reports in recent days of a full-court press by the Administration and others on the exigency issue followed mailer rejection of employee group offers to negotiate a compromise.  Sen. Susan Collins had indicated her willingness to consider any compromise that emerged, but the mailers rejected two approaches offered by the postal employee groups, without making a counterproposal.

    A July 12 letter to Rep. Tom Davis, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, from NAPS and five other employee organizations – the National Association of Postmasters, the National League of Postmasters, the National Association of Letter Carriers, the National Rural Letter Carriers Association and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union – urged Davis to stand by the exigency approach contained in the House-approved postal bill, H.R. 22.  The Postal Service, meanwhile, reportedly has sided with the Administration in its multiple demands, especially on anti-labor provisions.  
   
    House Chairman Tom Davis and Senate Chairman Susan Collins continue to publicly express optimism that differences separating the sides can be bridged and a compromise measure passed before the end of this Congress.  The House begins a four-week long recess at the end of this week, and the Senate will commence its August break a week later.  After that, only the month of September remains for legislative business, with an early October recess looming, and a potential post-election lame-duck session in December to wrap-up the final odds-and-ends.

Bruce Moyer
NAPS Legislative Counsel

White House, Mailer and UPS Demands Threaten Postal Reform (doc)

POSTAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - JANUARY 9, 2006
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POSTAL SUPERVISORS

In This Issue:

• Corruption Scandal Touches Postal Rates

• Postal Reform Vote in Senate Could Happen in February

• Postal Service Denied Medicare Drug Subsidy

The focus on Capitol Hill this month will be devoted largely to the Senate’s confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, Jr., and the ever-widening Abramoff corruption scandal.  No major legislative action is expected in either chamber until early February, although a Senate vote on the Alito nomination is possible before the end of the month.  The House of Representatives will not return for normal business until January 31, the day of the President’s State of the Union Address.

Corruption Scandal Touches Postal Rates

On Saturday, the Abramoff scandal prompted embattled Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) to give up his effort to reclaim his House Majority Leader position, setting in play a scramble among several House contenders for the post and possibly creating a shake-up of the entire House Republican leadership team.

Today the Abramoff scandal spilled into the postal arena.  The New York Times and other news sources reported that the Department of Justice is investigating allegations that the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who last week pled guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy to bribe public officials, attempted to thwart a 2001 postal rate increase with money paid by the Magazine Publishers Association that was then funneled to Abramoff's political allies. 

In court documents filed with the federal district court in Washington last Tuesday, Abramoff admitted to authorities that he and an unidentified Congressional aide worked to prevent an increase in postal rates.   According to today's news reports, the magazine association paid at least $1.4 million from 2000 to 2003 to Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds, the lobbying firm where Mr. Abramoff was the chief lobbyist.  The money was part of a broader campaign by the magazine association to keep postal rates down, explore reform of the postal system and seek alternate means of delivering magazines. Postal rate increases are a major concern to publishers like the magazine industry that rely upon the mail to distribute their product.

The proposed 2001 postal rate increases were deferred while the association was a client of Mr. Abramoff, but it is not clear at this point who on Capitol Hill or at the Postal Service did what for whom in terms of delaying the rate increase.

Today’s reports also allege that the Magazine Publishers Association in 2000 made a $25,000 contribution to a nonprofit group called Toward Tradition, an alliance of Jews and evangelical Christians, based on a directive from Preston Gates.  Abramoff, according to reports, allegedly funneled money through Toward Tradition to the wife of his associate, Tony C. Rudy, a former top aide to Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX), the former House majority leader.

Stay tuned ….

Postal Reform Vote in Senate Could Happen in February

Postal observers believe that the Senate could take up postal legislation next month, clearing the way for floor action on the postal reform measure (the Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act, S. 662) co-authored by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE).  A hold on the legislation placed by Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO), creating a lengthy dispute over the sharing of mail costs between small and large mailers, is expected to be dropped, yielding a vote on the bill and potential amendments.  Sen. Bond, according to Kansas City news reports, predicted a Senate vote on the bill as early as February.

The need for postal reform legislation is based upon the belief that declining postal volume and the migration of mail to the internet require a new legislative framework and postal business model.  The Postal Service shows mixed signs of believing that it can largely transform itself into viability through changes in its operations, rather than in governing law.  Announcing the financial gains achieved by the end of 2005, the Postal Service proudly pointed to the erasure of its multi-million dollar debt and a record sixth consecutive year of growth in productivity.  “These remarkable results reflect the strong efforts throughout the entire organization to remain focused on the transformational strategies we identified in 2002,” Postmaster General John Potter and Board of Governors Chairman James C. Miller III said in a statement.  Potter and Miller’s statement made no mention of postal reform legislation or the need for it.

What Potter and Mill did not acknowledge is that the evaporation of the Postal Service’s debt and other financial gains were largely the result of the 2003 postal retirement law passed by the Congress that permitted the USPS to use its Civil Service Retirement payments ($3.1 billion per year) to stabilize postage rates and pay down its debt.  Those funds are now no longer available to the Postal Service, due to a clampdown in the 2003 law.  Beginning in 2005, Congress required the placement of those civil service overpayments into an escrow fund, blocking further access to them by the Postal Service.  Only postal reform legislation will permit the USPS to terminate the escrow fund and recover those funds, originally paid by ratepayers.   USPS on some days appears to have given up on recovering those escrow fund dollars.

Instead, USPS “transformation” strategies are increasingly being focused on the closure and consolidation of mail processing facilities to generate cost reductions and increased productivity.  These actions, along with service standards, are likely to be the target of increased Congressional scrutiny in the coming months. 

 Postal Service Denied Medicare Drug Subsidy

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has rejected the Postal Service’s application for a Medicare prescription drug subsidy, projected to save postal customers at least $250 million annually.  The Center denial followed the urging of the Office of Personnel Management, which said the Postal Service should not be allowed to receive the subsidy because it participates in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.  NAPS joined with other postal employee organizations in October to encourage USPS to seek the Medicare subsidy payment.

The USPS attempted to capitalize upon a provision in the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act that lets employers seek federal rebates if they offer retiree prescription drug benefits that exceed Medicare's offering.  Under the provision, public and private employers providing qualified drug coverage can receive a tax-free payment from Medicare equal to 28 percent of their drug costs.  Congress agreed to provide the subsidy through the 2003 law as a way to keep employers from abandoning or reducing drug coverage for their retirees.  OPM maintained that FEHBP has no intention of reducing its prescription drug benefit, officials emphasized.

The subsidy would have provided a financial shot in the arm to the Postal Service.  The cost of providing health insurance to postal retirees and survivors has doubled over the past five years, according to postal officials.  In 2006, officials estimate, the Postal Service will spend more than $7 billion on health benefits for employees and retirees. 

 Bruce Moyer
Legislative Counsel to the National Association of Postal Supervisors

http://www.naps.org/Legislative_News/LegUpdate_01-09-06.doc

Vincent Palladino Post Office
On Thursday, December 1, 2005 President Bush signed H.R. 2183 designating the Staten Island, NY Post Office as the Vincent Palladino Post Office.

POSTAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - NOVEMBER 16, 2005
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POSTAL SUPERVISORS

In This Issue:
 

• Bond Amendment Frustrates Senate Action on Postal Reform

• Postal Network Redesign Could Boost Savings, But Cut Jobs

Bond Amendment Continues to Frustrate Senate Action on Postal Reform 
 

A dispute involving the sharing of mail costs between small and large mailers continues to prevent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) from bringing her postal reform bill (the Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act, S. 662) to the Senate floor for approval.  The issue has deeply disturbed NAPS and much of the postal community. 

The stalemate between Collins and Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) over “fair and equitable” rate language in the Senate postal reform measure has now gone on for more than three months, nearly wiping out the possibility of Senate action on postal reform this fall. 

Here’s what’s happened.  Prompted by greeting card manufacturers, especially Hallmark Cards based in his state, Sen. Bond exercised his prerogative under the Senate’s arcane (read “undemocratic) rules to put a “hold” on Collins’ postal bill in late July, just before Collins sought Senate approval of the postal bill.  Despite talks between Collins and Bond and a recent offer by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) to Bond to have a floor vote on Bond’s amendment to revise the Senate bill, Bond has resisted and dug in.

The House postal reform bill contains language calling for “fair and equitable” rates, but the Senate bill does not, regarding “fair and equitable” as under its ratemaking framework as one of several factors the Postal Regulatory Commission would consider in setting rates.  Bond contends that the small mailers and consumers, particularly the senders of greeting cards, can only be protected from unfairly high rates (created by discounts for large mailers) if fair and equitable rates are an objective of the rate-making process, not merely a factor.

NAPS recently joined with other postal management and labor groups in a November 8 letter to all United States Senators, opposing Senator Bond’s amendment.  The letter in part said:

"The Bond amendment would allow certain interests to hold the new [rate] system hostage through the threat of expensive litigation.  The amendment is an attempt by a small segment of the mailing community to micromanage rate making for their own purposes and to sabotage a new rate-making system designed to ensure the Postal Service’s future economic viability."

The Postal Service sent a similar letter opposing the Bond amendment to the Senate on November 14.  “While [the Bond] amendment sounds reasonable, it will negate the other pricing provisions contained in the bill.  The Postal Service is strongly opposed to this amendment,” Tom Day, USPS Senior Vice President for Government Relations said.  (Check out the NAPS website under “Legislative News/Postal Reform” to read the NAPS/employee groups and USPS letters protesting the Bond amendment.

Postal Network Redesign Could Boost Savings, But Cut Jobs

For years the Postal Service has kept its plans for the realignment of the postal network under lock and key.   With declines in mail volume and increases in automation looming larger each year, postal network redesign may be the silver bullet that unleashes huge increases in processing and transportation efficiencies, producing billions of dollars in cost savings for the Postal Service.  Those savings could come through the elimination of “excess network capacity”, resulting in the closure or consolidation of potentially large numbers of processing and distribution facilities -- and the elimination of thousands of jobs. 

The labor impact makes postal network redesign especially controversial. That’s why USPS network redesign plans have approached the level of state secrets at Postal Service Headquarters.  A relatively small number of USPS officials have worked on network redesign planning and remain sworn to secrecy.  Meanwhile the Postal Service has largely declined to share its thinking on postal network redesign with members of the postal community, including NAPS and other employee groups, mailers and even Congress.  USPS officials are scared stiff that the slightest hint of a revelation the potential closure or consolidation of a processing and distribution plant could trigger preemptive efforts on Capitol Hill to prevent it from ever happening.  

Only when Congress sent its watchdog agency, the Government Accountability Office to L’Enfant Plaza earlier this year to investigate the USPS network redesign plan, then known as Network Integration and Alignment, did the Postal Service begin to open up.  And even then, the details released were inconsistent or contradictory, prompting GAO in its 89-page report to Congress to say that “the Service’s strategy for realigning its mail processing infrastructure lacks clarity, criteria and accountability.”

Now the Postal Service may be finally preparing to show its hand.  Postal Service officials recently notified NAPS and the postal employee unions of plans to consolidate mail processing operations at nine processing and distribution centers in six states on the east and west coasts.  The announcement may be among the first steps in USPS’ latest redesign effort, now known as Evolutionary Network Development (END), to rationalize and optimize postal facilities, processing systems, transportation and staffing.  The Postal Service Strategic Transformation Plan, released in September, indicates that END will become a critical part of USPS efforts to improve the distribution and transportation of mail.   <>

While the Postal Service in the past relied upon single-product networks, based on their class (for example, Standard Mail parcels in one location and Priority Mail packages in another), multiple-product networks will become the model for the future.  Regional Distribution Centers are envisioned as important network hubs for multiple classes or types of mail, consolidating parcel and bundle distribution to take advantage of shape-based efficiencies. 

The closure of the Marina mail processing plant in southern California and the consolidation of its operations into Los Angeles and Long Beach marks an important example of what’s likely to happen throughout the USPS network – and on a potentially big scale. A recent briefing to Postal Service executives on the END redesign plan reportedly projected the elimination of as many as 250 processing centers by the time the network redesign effort is completed.  

In the meantime, Congress says it expects the Postal Service to keep it and postal stakeholders like NAPS to be kept apprised of the Postal Service’s plans.  The House-passed postal reform legislation will require USPS to submit to Congress, the Postal Regulatory Commission and the Board of Governors a written report on the state of the Service’s postal network realignment effort.  And the Senate bill that awaits final action would require USPS to develop a plan that includes a description of “the long-term vision of the Postal Service for rationalizing its infrastructure and workforce.”

 
Bruce Moyer
Legislative Counsel to the National Association of Postal Supervisors

POSTAL REFORM UPDATE
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POSTAL SUPERVISORS
JULY 27, 2005


HOUSE OVERWHELMINGLY PASSES POSTAL REFORM MEASURE

The House of Representatives last night by a significant margin passed comprehensive postal reform legislation.  The final vote was 410-20.  It marks the first major overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service in 35 years and would provide rate-making flexibility and a framework for financial solvency. 

The House vote capped three hours of debate, including the defeat of four amendments.  

The National Association of Postal Supervisors is a strong supporter of comprehensive postal reform and worked hard to secure passage of H.R. 22, along with many other members of the postal community.  Hundreds of NAPS members telephoned their members of Congress on Tuesday to urge their support for H.R. 22 and the defeat of any amendments.

Credit for House passage goes especially to House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA), Rep. John M. McHugh (R-NY), Committee Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) and their staffs.  Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) also was instrumental in guiding the legislation through the House Rules Committee.
 
Earlier yesterday, the Bush White House released a statement of Administration policy, supporting efforts to secure comprehensive postal reform, but threatening veto of legislation that “would have an adverse impact on the Federal budget, either by releasing funds from escrow without devoting them to pre-fund liabilities or by transferring the military service obligation from USPS to taxpayers.”  Because H.R. 22 does not satisfy these White House demands, discussions on these issues between Congressional leaders and the White House will continue.  If a compromise is reached, the new language likely would be added when the Senate considers its version of the measure in September or in conference committee.

Look for further details on the passage of H.R. 22 shortly.

Bruce Moyer
Legislative Counsel to National Association of Postal Supervisors

July 13, 2005

    Update on Postal Reform

  Things are looking relatively positive at the current moment in terms of potential House and Senate floor action in the very near future on postal reform; however, a number of key concerns still remain.  House and Senate floor action could come about, especially in the House, as early as next week.   Senate action could occur before the start of the August recess.

 There has been a fair amount of activity in recent weeks.  Here is a rundown.  PMG Potter is likely to want to review the implications of these developments, and some USPS continuing concerns about postal reform proposals, during his meeting next week with Ted and the postal employee organization presidents.

 1.  As you know, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee reported out the Collins-Carper postal reform bill (S. 662) on June 22.   The House Government Reform Committee had earlier approved the House version on postal reform on April 28.  HR 22 has 163 cosponsors; S. 662 now has 19.

 2.  Two weeks ago, the Bush Administration, led by the White House Domestic Policy staff, met with Senators Collins and Carper and Reps. Davis and McHugh, along with key staff, to go over the elements of a possible postal reform agreement.  The White House agreed to let the House and Senate go ahead to floor votes, while issues continue to be worked out.  (Going ahead, while issues remain on the table, is problematic.  See further discussion of this below.)  The biggest break point coming out of the White House/Congressional talks was the Administration’s tentative agreement to resolution of the military retirement issue, with some waiver of USPS liability of pension payments “prospectively.”  (Further details on this forthcoming.)  The White House also indicated it still wants escrow overfunding to go 100% to future liabilities.

 3.  The White House is seeking additional reforms to be added to the legislation.  These include:

 Negotiated Service Agreements – This is surprising, since the newspaper associations vigorously oppose NSA’s.  This is why Collins/Carper agreed to let current law/practice stand and didn’t address NSA’s in the Senate bill.  The White House apparently was moved to reinsert the NSA provisions at the encouragement of the Postal Service.  The newspaper groups are likely to oppose postal reform if an NSA provision is reinserted.  This will remain a fluid issue, and the White House may back off on this.

 Worksharing – The White House wants to return to the earlier, more worksharing-friendly language (more favorable to mailers) promoted by Sen. Collins in last year’s legislation.  If that occurs, it would rescind the worksharing language agreement that was worked out by APWU with Lieberman, Carper and Collins.

 Pay Contract Arbitration – The White House also favors language that would require labor-management arbitrators to take into account the financial health of the Postal Service in resolving pay negotiations with the craft.  I’m told that arbitrators already do this in practice; the White House (and the Postal Service) nonetheless would prefer that this become a legal requirement. 

 The White House staff is aware of the political challenges of re-opening these issues; however, their position is consistent with the “more reform” message they have been signaling for months.  It’s also privately supported by some of the mailers.

 4.  The White House also apparently maintains the following views:

• Any postal reform legislation must be revenue neutral to get Administration support

• The Administration will support increased borrowing authority (up to $2B a year) for the Postal Service as a mechanism to encourage them to hold down rate increases until the rate caps are in place.

• Generally, the Administration prefers the Senate bill. 

 5.  White House support for the legislative process to move forward to a vote in the House and Senate, while details are being negotiated, is problematic and could raise real concerns.  This means there likely will be floor amendments, as well reinforce the view that the real crunch will come in the conference between House and Senate negotiators on the final version, when anything could happen, and employee groups will have the least influence. 

 6.  A recent “Dear Colleague” letter by Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), urging a vote in the House on postal reform, had 52 signatures, including many from conservative Republican House members, including the Republican Study Committee.  This was a positive development for postal reform, and is viewed as counteracting a reform-negative talking points letter from Reps. Pence/Hensling/Flake. 

 7.  Reps. Pence/Hensling/Flake are still likely to promote a “hard cap” amendment during House floor action.  This would raise real concerns for the Postal Service.  It would prevent the possibility of USPS rate relief in extraordinary circumstances – potentially causing USPS layoffs and severe cutbacks in service.  The employee groups are likely to strongly oppose this as well. 

 8.  Bottom line:  While we may not be at the goal line yet, the recent movement is the clearest sign yet that postal reform could see floor action in both chambers the next several weeks, particularly in view of White House support for moving forward.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POSTAL SUPERVISORS
POSTAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
MAY 11, 2005


In This Issue:

• NAPS Vice President Louis Atkins Undergoes Emergency Heart Surgery

• GAO Calls for Postal Service Improvement in Network Realignment Planning

• House Measure Would Name Post Office In Honor of Vincent Palladino

NAPS VICE PRESIDENT LOUIS ATKINS UNDERGOES EMERGENCY HEART SURGERY

NAPS Executive Vice President Louis Atkins underwent successful quadruple heart bypass surgery on Tuesday evening, May 10, following diagnostic tests that revealed significant blockage of his heart arteries.  The NAPS Resident Officer entered the hospital on Sunday night, May 8, 2005, with breathing difficulty.  His responsibilities include the management of NAPS' legislative advocacy activities.

Louis is expected to remain hospitalized for about a week, followed by further recovery at home.  Cards and well wishes may be sent to Louis in care of NAPS Headquarters, 1727 King Street, Suite 400, Alexandria, Virginia 22314-2753.  

Update: Executive Vice President Louis Atkins was released from the hospital on May 15. He is recuperating at home in Alexandria, VA, following heart surgery and is doing well. Cards and well wishes may be sent in care of NAPS Headquarters at the above address and we will deliver them to him.


GAO CALLS FOR POSTAL SERVICE IMPROVEMENT IN PLANT REALIGNMENT PLANNING

The Postal Service is not doing enough to provide information to Congress and its stakeholders about its plans to modernize the network of 450 postal plants that process and distribute mail, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released May 9. 

The GAO's criticism echoes long-standing concerns by the National Association of Postal Supervisors over the lack of Postal Service transparency of the Service's efforts to standardize operations and reduce excess capacity in its mail processing infrastructure.  Many NAPS members are management and supervisory officials at mail processing and distribution facilities throughout the country.

 The report, "U.S. Postal Service: The Service's Strategy for Realigning Its Mail Processing Infrastructure Lacks Clarity, Criteria and Accountability" can be downloaded at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05261.pdf

"While the Service has announced various plans and strategies, including a modeling effort and an attempt to get more uniformity in its infrastructure, it recently announced that it is pursuing an evolutionary strategy--that will respond to opportunities as they arise--and has provided little information about any of these efforts,"  the GAO said."  "The Service's limited communication makes it difficult for customers to work with the Service to achieve a least-cost network for the entire mailing industry, for Service employees to understand how they may be affected, for communities to understand how they will be affected, and for Members of Congress to explain to their constituents what the Service is planning to do."

The GAO report, requested by Reps. John McHugh (R-NY) and Danny Davis (D-IL), co-chairmen of the Special Panel on Postal Reform and Oversight during the 108th Congress, underscores the need for postal reform measures (H.R. 22 and S. 662) that, in part, would require the Postal Service to develop a strategy for "rationalizing" the postal facilities network and communicate that plan to Congress and postal stakeholders.   Washington lawmakers, mailers, unions and management organizations have become increasingly frustrated over Postal Service attempts to cloak in secrecy its plans to consolidate its plant structure and reduce expenses. 

Under both H.R. 22 and S. 662, the USPS would be required to develop a network realignment plan and: establish estimated timeframes, criteria, and processes for making changes to the facilities network; identify what impact any facility changes may have on the postal workforce and whether the Postal Service has sufficient flexibility to make needed workforce changes; and identify the anticipated costs, cost savings, and other benefits associated with the infrastructure rationalization alternatives discussed in the plan.

"GAO has provided a thorough analysis with solid recommendations that will help improve services," McHugh said in a statement. "As Congress works to enact critical postal reform legislation, USPS must at the same time move forward with these recommendations, which will help improve efficiency and ensure that it is capturing cost savings wherever possible."

The GAO report comes at a time when NAPS and employee unions, the mailing industry and the Postal Service are together working to convince Congress to support postal reform legislation, despite differences with the White House over pension provisions in the legislation.  The Administration's objections turn largely on whether the Postal Service should have its military pensions shifted back to the Treasury Department and whether the Postal Service should be given access to money slated for an escrow account. Administration reservations about those same provisions kept the House bill and a similar Senate measure from clearing either chamber last year.  Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-ME) and House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) are continuing discussions with the administration on those sticking points. 

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee reportedly is aiming to resolve those differences and move the measure to a markup by the last week of May.

House floor action on the postal reform measure (H.R. 22), which cleared the Government Reform Committee on April 13, is expected by the end of May.  The House Government Reform Committee's report on H.R. 22 can be downloaded from the NAPS website at:  http://www.naps.org/Legislative_News/04-26-05-HR-22-House-Rpt-109-66.pdf

A side-by-side comparison of the provisions of both bills also is available on the NAPS website at:  http://www.naps.org/Legislative_News/05-05-05-CRS-SidebySide-Reform-Bill-Comparison.pdf


HOUSE MEASURE WOULD NAME POST OFFICE IN HONOR OF VINCE PALLADINO

Legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives to rename the Rosebank Post Office in Staten Island, New York, in honor of Vincent Palladino, the former president of the National Association of Postal Supervisors, who died suddenly on December 20, 2004.   

The post office naming measure, H.R. 2183, was introduced on May 5 by Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY), in whose Congressional district the post office, at 567 Tompkins Avenue, Staten Island, is located.  Under the legislation, the facility would be renamed the "Vincent Palladino Post Office."

Vince Palladino began his postal career in 1960 as a letter carrier working out of the Rosebank Post Office.  In 1968 he was promoted to Supervisor and joined the National Association of Postal Supervisors.  Vince served as Station Manager of the Rosebank facility until he was elected NAPS National Executive Vice President and relocated to Washington in 1986.  Thomas Roma, NAPS Area Vice President for the New York Area, a tireless advocate for the post office naming measure, commented that "Vince was the finest supervisor the Rosebank Post Office ever produced.  Because of his legacy, it's only fitting that the Post Office be dedicated in Vince's honor."

All 29 members of the New York delegation to the House of Representatives are original co-sponsors of the legislation.  All NAPS branches are urged to contact their House members to encourage them to become co-sponsors of H.R. 2183.  The House Committee on Government Reform is expected to act on the measure shortly.


Bruce Moyer
Legislative Counsel to National Association of Postal Supervisors

source: http://www.naps.org/Legislative_News/LegUpdate_05-11-05.doc

H.R. 2183

National Association of Postal Supervisors

Postal Legislative Update - May 3, 2005

In this Issue:

* Postal Reform Cosponsor Count Doubles, With a Little Help from NAPS

* Stalemate over Pension Money Stalls Postal Reform in Senate

* Potter to Congress: Send Money

POSTAL REFORM COSPONSOR COUNT DOUBLES, WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM NAPS

The impact of NAPS' full-court press for Congressional support of postal reform is clearly paying off.  The number of House cosponsors for H.R. 22 the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, has doubled since April 2-3,when nearly 700 NAPS members descended on Capitol Hill to meet with Congressional lawmakers to make the case for postal reform.  The visits occurred in conjunction with NAPS' annual Legislative Training Seminar and clearly had a pronounced impact.

While other fine organizations throughout the postal community have contributed considerable support for postal reform, few groups have swept the Hill with as many members and energy to educate and prod Congress to support postal reform the way NAPS members did last month.  And the results clearly demonstrate NAPS' effectiveness.   

Just before NAPS delegates undertook over 400 Congressional visits on April 2-3, there were 52 cosponsors of HR 22, the House postal reform measure.  As of May 2, there were 121 cosponsors.  In the immediate aftermath between April 2 and April 13, the day the House Government Reform Committee approved HR 22, thirty-seven House members joined as cosponsors.      

In the Senate as of April 2, there were 2 cosponsors for S. 662, the Senate postal reform measure.   During the following two weeks, the number tripled, as six Senators signed-on to cosponsor S. 662.  That number of cosponsors remained the same as of May 2.   To find out whether your House member or Senator has become a cosponsor of postal reform legislation, go to http://www.naps.org/Legislative_News/05-02-05-POSTAL-REFORM-HR-22-Cosponsors.pdf for House members , and go to http://www.naps.org/Legislative_News/05-02-05-POSTAL-REFORM-S-662-Cosponsors.pdf  for Senators, or go to the NAPS website at www.naps.org, then click Legislative News and then Postal Reform.   

STALEMATE OVER PENSION MONEY STALLS POSTAL REFORM IN SENATE

The dispute between the White House and Congressional leaders over whether postal ratepayers or taxpayers should bear responsibility for military pension payments for postal employees, along with the future of the escrow fund containing Postal Service pension overpayments, continues to hold up Senate action on postal reform.  No end to the impasse is yet in sight, despite earlier reports that a compromise was in the works.   

The Bush administration remains insistent on requiring the Postal Service to pay $27 billion for past and future military pension costs, while Senator Susan M. Collins (R-ME) and Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), the chief Senate architects of postal reform, contend that return of the military pension payment obligation to the Treasury Department and repeal of the $78 billion CSRS escrow fund are the missing links necessary for postal reform.    

NAPS - along with USPS, other postal employee organizations and mailers - strongly support the Collins-Carper view, which is also reflected in House postal reform legislation (H.R. 22) unanimously approved on April 13 by the House Government Reform Committee.  A portion of the escrow money, under both the Senate and House bills, would pre-fund future retiree health benefits.  The Administration, on the other hand wants all the escrow to go toward the pre-funding of retiree benefits.  

Supporters of postal reform in the House of Representatives are optimistic that a floor vote in the House may still