On December 29, 2017 President was again in the news for tweeting. This time his target was the USPS and the prices given to Amazon which are “making Amazon richer and the Post Office dumber and poorer,” according to the tweet. In an L.A. Times article, Michael Hiltzik looks at why the President and Congress…
Register now for AUSPL’s next visit to Capitol Hill on March 13-15, 2018! Concerned about knowing what to say? We’ve got you covered! Training will be held on the afternoon of March 13. Congressional Visits and Luncheon in the Capitol Building on March 14. And in case you are thinking it’s all work and no play, there will…
On Tuesday, February 7 at 10:00 a.m. (EST) the House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on H.R. 756. The purpose of the hearing is to examine the need for a timely and comprehensive postal reform bill, and to discuss provisions that stakeholders believe are necessary. To See the List of Invited Witnesses, Click Here
On January 31, 2017, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee leaders introduced the Postal Service Reform Act of 2017, H.R. 756. The bill is a reintroduction of H. R. 5714, which was introduced by Chairman Jason Chaffetz in the prior Congress. H.R. 756 has a bipartisan group of cosponsors, including Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Ranking…
At a meeting of the House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz told committee members that the Committee will make postal reform a top priority for the new 115th Session of Congress. Chairman Chaffetz authored HR 5714, a comprehensive postal reform bill introduced in the previous session of Congress. HR 5714 made it out of committee…
On September 28, 2016, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) introduced Senate Bill 3452 (“S. 3452”), titled the “Post Office Discontinuance Accountability Act of 2016.” The Bill is co-sponsored by Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The Bill has been introduced late in the legislative session and will die if it is not passed into law by January 3, 2017. However, it can in such a case be re-introduced in the new Congress next year.
The objective of the Bill is to establish procedures governing “emergency suspensions” of Post Offices by the USPS. Under the Bill, emergency suspensions are defined to be:
[t]emporary discontinuance of a post office without following discontinuance procedures for the post office, because of (1) a natural disaster, (2) the early, sudden, or unexpected termination of a lease or rental agreement by the lessor when suitable alternate quarters are not immediately available in the same community, (3) lack of qualified personnel to operate the post office, (4) severe or irreparable damage to or destruction of, the post office when suitable alternate quarters are not immediately available in the community, (5) a challenge to the sanctity of the mail, or (6) a lack of adequate measures to safeguard the post office or its revenues. [Italics added.]
It is significant that S. 3452 does not define the term “emergency suspension” to include the expiration of a long term lease at the end of its term, as such an expiration can clearly be anticipated by both the USPS and the lessor. Because the USPS has in the past attempted to establish regulations which would allow it to treat normal lease expiration as an emergency suspension, AUSPL has long argued that the term should be limited to situations which are true “emergencies,” using the plain meaning of the word. S. 3452 would clarify that question in a meaningful way for postal lessors.
Representatives Sam Graves (MO-6) and Gerald Connolly (VA-11) have referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform House Resolution 12 entitled “Empower the United States Postal Service to Thrive in the 21st Century.” This resolution urges the USPS to take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of six day mail delivery service.…
On July 9, 2015, Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) introduced (S.1742), The Rural Postal Act of 2015. This bill is intended to improve both rural mail service and the morale of rural postal workers. Following her “Fix My Mail” initiative—wherein Heitkamp examined the postal concerns of rural North Dakotans—Heitkamp has introduced a bill that proposes to…
by Harry Glenn
As predicted at the May conference, the House and Senate will make another attempt at moving postal reform and modernization legislation through Congress as early as this summer. This makes it more important than ever that each AUSPL member makes contact with his or her member of Congress to share the association’s interest in this matter.
AUSPL President Morgan Wolaver, Board Member Gary Phillips and Director of Operations Mark Karolczyk visited Capitol Hill May 20 and 21 to meet with key members of Congress and legislative staff who will be drafting postal legislation.
H.R. 4670 Secure Delivery for America Act of 2014 The Essentials 1. For three years, Representative Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has tried to sell his colleagues on a comprehensive postal reform bill. His rescue plan for the money-losing U.S. Postal Service includes ending Saturday letter delivery, closing some post offices, and consolidating the agency’s sprawling distribution…