From the eNAPUS Legislative and Political Bulletin:
Earlier this week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved H.R. 3813, legislation that would slash postal and federal retirement benefits by $44 billion over the next decade. The provisions included in the Committee-approved bill were hastily inserted in H.R. 7, a highway construction bill, and will be used to offset a funding shortfall in the transportation bill. The House may bring H.R.7, with the federal retirement cuts, up for a floor vote late next week. In addition, postal reform legislation slips until after the Presidents’ Day Recess, and the Postal Inspector General concludes that the USPS retiree healthcare liability could be fully funded in 21 years, without any additional pre-funding payments.
Over the past couple of weeks, consideration of S. 1789, the 21st Century Postal Act , has slipped behind other Senate legislative priorities. On the immediate horizon, a 10-month extension of the Social Security pay-roll tax holiday will supplant S. 1789 in the legislative pecking order.
Complicating prompt consideration of the Lieberman-Collins-Carper-Brown bill are concerns being raised within the Senate Democratic Caucus over a limited number of controversial provisions in the bill (e.g., changes to collective-bargaining and the federal workers’ compensation program). In addition, there is pressure to add provisions to the bill to strengthen Postal Regulatory Commission involvement in facility closure and consolidation decision-making, and deny the USPS the opportunity to reduce delivery service standards.
In addition, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill would cost about $6.3 billion, and caused pause on the GOP side of the aisle.
NAPUS strongly believes that the CBO estimate is disingenuous, since none of the identified funds are the taxpayers’, and it results from re-funding the USPS FERS surplus and re-amortizing the pre-funding of future retiree FEHBP liabilities. Moreover, the Office of Personnel Management has calculated that the USPS has overfunded FERS and CSRS by $13.1 billion. (The OPM determination is independent of the projected $55-75 billion USPS overpayment into the CSRS.)
Finally, the USPS circulated in the Senate a memorandum, raising questions about its commitment to pursing passable postal relief legislation this year. USPS-promoted provisions excluded from the Governmental Affairs-approved bill or USPS-resisted items Committee, or amendments that may prevail on the Senate floor have tainted the USPS’ 2012 legislative strategy.
However, the facts are uncontested. The USPS will be unable to make $11.1 of pre-funding payments in in the current fiscal year — about ½ on August 1 and remainder on September 30. The USPS needs relief from these unjustified payments. In addition, it needs more legislative latitude and incentives to grow its revenue; not simply contract its market reach into irrelevancy, pursuing a kamikaze mission of retail inaccessibility and service cuts.
A potential Senate floor vote on which NAPUS will be focusing will be a motion to “waive a point of order” against the bill for violating a Senate budget rule. We expect that an anti-postal Senator will raise such a point of order against the bill. NAPUS will push for a waiver, because congressional budget rules are inherently unfair to the USPS and prejudicial to implementing postal relief.
In the meantime, NAPUS will continue to work with Senate allies to fine-tune S. 1789, so that the measure will garner the requisite votes for passage.
eNAPUS Legislative and Political Bulletin
Also see:
Open Season on the Federal Public Service?
Retiree Costs Fully Funded in 21 years
Not so many latinos in Issa’s district. Some rich areas, but also places like Corona.
White trashy in many respects, but homeowners.
Don’t know why that type votes repub.
I think the speaker was a Big Zep and MoonShine fan that took it’s toll.
Hopefully the Latino community in parts of district 49 will turn the tide on Issa.
Stomp on this clown Riverside County.
I know are manager is pro Issa and lives in his district,but so do some of my family members so the word is getting out, doing what we can to get him out.
It would be so much fun to see his1% out of touch rich ass thrown out of office.
Here is a case in point. All Carrier’s cases are set up for right handed people. Yet left handers are held to the same standard as right handed people. They decide to do away with one wing of the three winged case. They take away the left wing, Now, if you are right handed that means you are twisting your arm to get the letter into the case sometimes. It would have made a lot more sense to take away the right wing. The left wing is easier to put mail into without twisting your arm. Nobody came to the Carrier and asked what works best for you. They saw it work at one location and said it should work for the entire Country. If you have 200 deliviers or 2000 this is what we are going with.
Joe there are places where boxes at the curb or cluster boxes will work. But what works one place doesn’t work elsewhere. I see too often the Postal Service uses univeral commnad on what to do. If you put a cluster box in any inner city location the boxes will be broken into and the mail stolen and then the boxes themselves will be uprooted and taken to a recylcling plant. You have to look at each and every route and decide what is good or not for that particular route. I have worked in the City and the Suburbs and know that things can’t work universally. The Postal Service thinks if it works in Nome Alaska it should work in Orlando Florida. Really? The Carriers and Clerks know more then anyone how to work more efficiently and get the best bang for the buck for their Customers. But, they don’t ask us. They look to computer programs. Don’t give me the VOE voice of the employee because they don’t allow any real input from us to make any positive adjustments to what we do. All the VOE does is make someone feel better about themselves in Management. The people who touch the mail need to have more input on how to improve things.
Andrew, well said. S-1789 has provisions for early outs to let old timers like me just go. Also gets rid of park and loop delivery. Had to take a PTF carrier job after 26 years as a clerk. What a waste of labor. Walk the neighborhood, up the stairs, put 1 piece of junk mail through the slot, ect.. Put the boxes on the street. Hate that NALC is against it. What about efficiency?
Issa won’t be voted out of office because he is from a district in southern CA that is very rich and thinks like he does. What we can hope for is he losses power in Congress. He is one of the 1%. One of the richest people in Politics. To him we are just pawns.
Joe Willy McFly….Issa is a douch bag that will be voted out of office very soon.
I am sorry you feel that way Joe. My Father in law was a Letter Carrier, his son is a Letter Carrier, my wife is a Letter Carrier as well as myself. I also have a lot of friends both Carriers and Clerks that I care too much about to just say the Hell with everybody else and pay me off to go away. I know a lot of people are really upset with the Postal Service and just want to get as far away as they can. It is really sad. I remember the reitired people coming into the office just to say hello and keep touch. Unfortunately the Posal Service has created an atmosphere where people treat there time there like a jail sentence and can’t wait to get away from everyone and everything associated with that. There are people trying to change that and I am one of them. We need each other.
Andrew, your lifer-ism makes me vomit. Early-outs please. Issa will take care of the rest.
What monopoly? FedEx and UPS do a lot of things we do. They just decide who they will deliver to and who they won’t. They farm out anything they deem too expensive to handle themselves. We deliver to every address in the U.S. Even the bottom of the Grand Canyon. For 45 cents. See how far they will go for that cost. The only monopoly we have is in letters. The more profitable services like parcels and overnight delivery everyone is in. No wonder we take a loss. They don’t want that business. Like I said. We are a Public Service and Trust. They are just business. That is why they thought it important enough to have it in the Constitution. To provide for a Postal Service.
Just get off the dime and take your responsibilities back ! Run it for what it was designed to be and get over it – – i.e. a monopoly for mail sanctity and citizen communication ! !
President Rolando is a man of vision. He has some great ideas for things we can do. I have talked to Senior Vice President Tim O’Malley and he too has some ideas of things to improve our business and thus strengthen the security of our jobs. But, we have to get the PRC to take the handcuffs off of the Postal Service. We also need to educate our elected officials to the real problems we face. Not to mention the prefunding or other issues. But, there is a way to keep the Postal Service working six days a week and continue to grow and not be outdated like some would have you think. Every Business including the Postal Service needs to look to ways of building their business stronger and expanding. And I don’t mean by farming out overseas. We can keep and create jobs here by working togeher to make it happen.
“expanding into areas we have not yet”
To boldly go were no PO/PCR has gone before.
Finally someone looking for new ideas
President Rolando has proposed ways to keep six day delivery and help the Postal Service reduce costs in doing so. Through Carrier connect I was able to sign up a large contact because we do not charge more for Saturday delivery. This contact uses Express mail exclusively. In addition we would lose contracts with companies that ship medicine because of going to five day delivery. With a Monday Holiday people would be in jeopardy of not getting their medicines in time. Small businesses that live check to check would also have problems meeting their obligations. This would only force more people to go to on-line or electronic payments. Even those who don’t do so now because they distrust them. We are a not only a Public Service but a Public Trust. People know they can depend on us six days a week. You don’t improve by taking steps backwards. President Rolando has proposed ideas to the Postal Service and the PRC to increase revenue by expanding into areas we have not yet. The PRC has to loosen it’s rules pertaining to the Postal Service in order for these ideas to work and bear fruit but if they do then we won’t be talking about the elimination of any day of service or closing Post Offices or Plants.
The USPS must be allowed to reduce street delivery to 5 days aweek. This service is not needed in the 21st century; there was a time it was a critical need in the 20th century. The advancements in communication via electronic instant messaging has made 6 day paper mail messaging communication delivery obsolete. Maintaing 6 day delivery is a wasted cost as it is nonessential in business and social communication in the age of APPS.
USPS must direct marketing efforts toward market demands that increase revenue cost effective such parcel and expedited mail per Express and priority. Delivering advertising mail 6 days a week is a loosing business operation due to fuel-vehicle cost and delivery operation workhours. High distribution cost low revenue generation.First class mail volume will continue to decrease which will continue to reduce revenue. Postal services exceed the demand which creates negative returns or defeict as quarter 1 lost 3.1 billion dollars. Who makes decisions to determine services needed as at present USPS is a $$$ loosing operation.
Joewatusi like your name you are doing the watusi around statements made by both the APWU and NALC Presidents. They DO NOT support s.1789. On the contrary. They have serious problems with parts of it. They do not support the elimination of point to point delivery. They do not support allowing the Postal Service to set up a Health Care program outside of FEHB. They do not support any mention of the elimination of Saturday delivery. They both state that they agree with a lot of the issues in this bill but want to work on these issues and some others to fully support it. Anyone listening to this guy is getting the wrong impression from both Presidents. I suggest that you instead go to either or both Union websites and get the facts. Seems your agenda Joe is to get what you can from the Postal Service and have it shuttered for all you care. As a Union representative or even a Union member we all have an obligation to leave the Service in the best shape possible for those behind us.
Call Your Senators:
202-224-3121
(Capitol Switchboard)
[Click here for direct #s]
Tell them you Support
S. 1789 as it is currently written
The U.S. Senate soon will likely debate the 21st Century Postal Reform Act (S. 1789), bill designed to ‘save” the U.S. Postal Service by offering Early Retirement Incentives.
As president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, I understand the budgetary and market challenges facing the USPS. However, these issues don’t result from an outdated organization. Despite the economic problems our country has confronted for the last several years, the Postal Service has done quite well. In fiscal years 2007-10, it had an operational profit of $611 million delivering the mail, and customer satisfaction and on-time delivery are at record highs.
S. 1789 should not be dramatically restructured, it will save America’s postal network. Rather, it will assure the survival of a venerable institution based on the Constitution, and not upset the livelihoods of the people, communities and businesses throughout Missouri and the United States that depend on a strong, reliable service. Instead of enacting shortsighted, destructive policies, Congress should approve this bill ,S.1789.
Fredric V. Rolando is the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers
incentives to be combined.
1. 25,000 cash.
2. 5 years added on to your FERS retirement.
3. Max out 80% on your CSRS retirement.
* NOTE: Remember you can choose combines of the three.
GOOGLE……….U.S. SENATE………Choose your “SENATOR HOME” State. Look for the area in which to write and send your comments.
Right on cut and paste, you don’t see those SOB’s on capitol hill taking any cuts from their pensions. Hey maybe they’ll name an aircraft carrier for us after taking all our pensions, health care and TSP’s. They can call it the USS. Suckers.
I enjoy Mr. Smiths post i copied it…hope he dont mind?
“I am so glad the Republicans believe in no tax increases.
Makes me proud to think of personally giving up a $62,000 social security offset to retire at age 55… to pay for road construction.
Maybe next year I can take a paycut to pay for a fence along the Mexican border…
Or maybe… no matching funds to TSP to pay for an aircraft carrier…
I am so excited!”
The repubs are trying to eliminate the FERS supplement for those that retire starting in 2013.
That will act as enticement to retire for all the it affects.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it passed.
@ MacvTm, Hi how are you doing?
Glad you brought up the One in the White House.
Us lazy marxist thugs communist occupiers feel thats its time/better instead of the One serving 4 more years in the White House, that One stay until all campaion, pledges and promises be fulfilled even if it means indefinitey or until Ones death..God forbid.
Maybe then the House Speaker will change his tone and work with One.
Speaking about the House Speaker did he have a mild stroke or something?
Something in the way he talks sounds strange like maybe he rode the short bus to school.
And who is that Little Joseph eyeglasses wearing Goebbels thats always standing by him?
Have A Nice Day 🙂
There are so many of us (clerks and carriers) that would leave right now with the $25,000 incentive. The Post Office has really gotten hostile in the last couple of years and I want to leave this insanity to have a real life. Luckily we all are currently qualified with age and time in and are just holding on for the ever elusive buyout.
macvtm19:President Obama will get my vote again…don’t cry you lazy fool.
The Postal legislation in the Transportation Bill is to get rid of about 40% of your FERS retirement benefits;this is being done by the Tea Party Republicans in Congress.Great news for Postal employees and all Federal employees courtesy of the F***ing Cowardly Republicans in Congress.
justsayin Seems your right on about not getting any clear information on early outs. It gets increasingly harder waiting for something to give. It effects our lives on so many levels. How can you plan your future or your families’ without some idea of what time frame all this is going to take, or what incentives will be offered. I don’t want to miss out on an opportunity at another job or career while waiting for these idiots to come up with a answer.
Don–its sad to say but its hard to get an honest answer from either higher up postal officals or from members of Congress. Just like posted above they are trying to slip passage of things concering Postal into a transportation bill hoping no on will notice. To me that is kinda underhanded & that seems to be their way of doing business. Seems lots of members of Congress has got an answer how to solve the woes of the Postal Service & not having an understanding of issues & what they are. Also sad to say it apperas upper management at the P O has no clue either!!
Can any one please tell me truthfully what real inticements are being offered by which bills for us to leave early. Not guess’s or rumors but what is really being offered and by whom?
Time to dump these unions, their nothing but thugs supporting the lazy workers of the USPS !!!!!!!When these unions support the communist and the occupiers its time to get rid of these marxist and the one in the White House too.
Joe, why are you telling a lie that is so obvious. APWU does not support S.1789, and your Guffey quote is wrong too, you lying sack of poo.
“APWU & NALC members have done a great job of getting the word out to legislators about our concerns: Keep up the good work ,support S-1789”
— Cliff Guffey, President
Call Your Senators:
202-224-3121
(Capitol Switchboard)
[Click here for direct #s]
Tell them you Support
S. 1789 as it is currently written
GOOGLE……….U.S. SENATE………Choose your “SENATOR HOME” State. Look for the area in which to write and send your comment.
I wrote ” I work for the U.S.P.S. and I do not oppose S1789 in it’s current form”. This bill offers three types of incentives not to be combined.
1. 25,000 cash.
2. 3 years added on to your FERS retirement
3. 2 years added on to your CSRS retirement.
* NOTE: Remember you can only choose one of the three.