Government affairs

House and Senate lawmakers were on Capitol Hill this week to work on a number of different issues including advancing nominees, passing legislation to protect the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and Americans with preexisting conditions, continued work on FY20 appropriations, and more.

House Activity

Last week, lawmakers introduced the most significant piece of legislation to letter carriers, the NALC, and the U.S. Postal Service of 116th Congress so far. The bipartisan USPS Fairness Act (H.R. 2382) would repeal the mandate that the Postal Service “pre-fund” decades’ worth of health benefits for its future retirees. While the legislation would not fully fix the financial problems at the agency, it marks an excellent first step in the pathway to successful postal reform. Read more here.

NALC is urging all letter carriers to get in touch with their Representatives and ask them to cosponsor H.R. 2382. While you have them on the phone, also ask them to cosponsor door delivery (H. Res. 23) and the recently introduced PRO Act (H.R. 2474).

You can call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and provide your ZIP code to get in contact with your member.

On Tuesday, Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and David McKinley (R-WV) reintroduced the Postal Service Financial Improvement Act of 2019 (H.R. 2553), which is identical to previous versions from past Congresses. The bill would strengthen USPS’s finances by raising the long-term rate of return on the assets of the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund and is part of a larger collection of bills that contain the building blocks for successful postal reform. Read more here.

Last week, the bipartisan “USPS Shipping Equity Act” (H.R. 2517) was introduced and would provide USPS with the authority to ship alcohol directly from licensed producers and retailers to legal consumers. Under current law, the Postal Service is prevented from shipping alcoholic goods. Private shippers such as FedEx and UPS are the only means for wineries, breweries, and other producers to have their goods delivered directly to American consumers. If passed into law, the Postal Service could also be utilized. Read more here.

NALC Priority Bills/Resolutions

H.R. 2382 – USPS Fairness Act
Status: Introduced by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR)
Co-sponsors: 26 (22 Democrat – 4 Republicans)

To repeal the requirement that the United States Postal Service prepay future retirement benefits.

House Resolution 23 (H. Res. 23) – Door Delivery
Status: Introduced by Reps. Susan Davis (D-CA) and Peter King (R-NY)
Co-sponsors: 183 (151 Democrats – 32 Republicans)

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of door delivery for all business and residential customers.

House Resolution 33 (H. Res. 33) – Anti-privatization
Status: Introduced by Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL)
Co-sponsors: 236 (203 Democrats – 33 Republicans)

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Federal Government and is not subject to privatization.

House Resolution 54 (H. Res. 54) – Six-day Delivery
Status: Introduced by Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Sam Graves (R-MO)
Co-sponsors: 236 (180 Democrats – 56 Republicans)

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of its six-day mail delivery service.

House Resolution 60 (H. Res. 60) – Service Standards
Status: Introduced by Rep. David McKinley (R-WV) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Co-sponsors: 152 (131 Democrats – 21 Republicans)

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to restore service standards in effect as of July 1, 2012.

Senate Resolution 99 (S. Res. 99) – Anti-privatization
Status: Introduced by Sens. Gary Peters and Jerry Moran (R-KS)
Co-sponsors: 38 (29 Democrats – 7 Republicans – 2 Independents)
Expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Federal Government and is not subject to privatization in whole or in part.