Cummings and Lynch Introduce Innovative Legislation to Return Postal Service to Profitability
The Innovate to Deliver Act” Encourages New Lines of Business, Creates Chief Innovation Officer, and Reforms Benefits Pre-payment Structure
Washington, DC — Today, Ranking Members Elijah E. Cummings and Stephen Lynch introduced comprehensive legislation to address the Postal Service’s current financial challenges and make innovative structural changes to enable it to continue to deliver for decades to come.
“Our legislation will fundamentally change the Postal Service’s business model so it can thrive in a changing marketplace,” Cummings said. “Unlike other proposals that merely slash services, personnel, and facilities, our bill allows the Postal Service to return to profitability while honoring commitments to workers and preserving quality service.”
“We, as Democrats, realize that changes are necessary and we have embraced that in this legislation,” Lynch said. “However, we also insist that there are responsible ways to reform the Postal Service while protecting the interests of postal customers, employees and retirees. This legislation is part of the comprehensive reform that the Postal Service needs in order to improve its long-term financial viability without sacrificing customer service or placing undue burden on our dedicated postal employees.”
H.R. 2967 , the Innovate to Deliver Act of 2011 (I2D), implements reforms in three core areas: profitability, personnel, and performance.
Highlights of the I2D Act include:
· It authorizes the Postal Service to enter into new lines of business that leverage its unique advantages, such as check-cashing, facility leasing, and retail services;
· It creates a new Chief Innovation Officer to drive the development of these innovative products and services, as well as new core mailing services;
· It corrects the overpayments made by the Postal Service to its retirement system, and it allows the right-sizing of its workforce by enabling the Postal Service to provide incentives for voluntary separation and early retirement;
· It streamlines procedures to ensure that the Postal Service’s excellent performance record is preserved and improved; and
· It requires enhanced reporting to Congress and the Postal Regulatory Commission on the Postal Service’s plans for right-sizing its network by closing and suspending retail and mail processing facilities.
Many of the bill’s provisions have the support of key stakeholders, such as the Postal Service leadership, postal unions, and the Administration.
Last week, Cummings, Lynch, and five other Members of Congress introduced a bill to extend by twelve weeks a Postal Service payment of $5.5 billion to its retiree health fund, thereby avoiding default and creating additional time for bipartisan negotiations. A shorter, six-week extension was included in the continuing resolution unveiled last week to fund the government’s operations into the fall.
THE POSTAL SERVICE INNOVATE TO DELIVER ACT OF 2011
(“THE I2D ACT”)
Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings
OVERVIEW
The I2D Act will meet the Postal Service’s financial challenges by implementing reforms in three core areas: profitability, personnel, and performance. Unlike other proposals that seek only to slash services, workforce, or facilities, the I2D Act tackles fundamental challenges with fundamental change to ensure that the Postal Service will continue to deliver for years to come.
- 1. Return to Profitability: The I2D Act gives the Postal Service the flexibility to update its business model and enter into new lines of business. Specifically, the bill:
- Authorizes the Postal Service to enter into new lines of business, such as check cashing, digital communications, facility leasing, and other activities that leverage the Postal Service’s unique business advantages;
- Creates a new Chief Innovation Officer to drive the development of innovative products and services;
- Enhances accountability regarding the success of these new products and services in meeting changing market needs;
- Requires immediate review of the Postal Service rate cap by the Postal Regulatory Commission;
- Requires the Postal Service Board of Governors to adjust rates so total revenues are at least equal to total costs; and
- Grants the Postal Service the flexibility to implement variable rates based on the distance mail travels, ensuring that prices more accurately reflect delivery costs.
- 2. Personnel—Right-Size, Right Now: The I2D Act allows the Postal Service to increase efficiency and profitability by realigning personnel in a responsible way. Specifically, the bill:
- Refunds $6.9 billion the Postal Service is estimated to have overpaid into the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS);
- Requires the Postal Service to use FERS surplus funds to encourage early retirement and voluntary separation to optimize its workforce and maximize the profitability of new ventures;
- Repeals the current prepayment schedule for Retiree Health Benefits and requires the Office of Personnel Management to establish a more practical and realistic schedule to be amortized over a longer period; and
- Preserves protections for Postal Service workers that were negotiated in good faith with management.
- 3. Preserve Performance and Improve Efficiency: The I2D Act streamlines Postal Service processes and procedures to ensure that its excellent performance record is preserved and improved. Specifically, the bill:
- Allows the Postal Service to develop new classes of mail products, in addition to existing classes, such as first-class, and standard delivery, so consumers can choose services they prefer;
- Increases efficiency by allowing the Postal Service to seek approval of service changes with the Postal Regulatory Commission on an expedited basis;
- Standardizes processes for closing retail facilities and streamlines appeal rights;
- Requires enhanced reporting to Congress and the Postal Regulatory Commission on the Postal Service’s plans for right-sizing its network by closing and suspending retail and mail processing facilities; and
- Allows the Postal Service and its Inspector General to enter into collaborative agreements to enable each to benefit from the other’s assets and expertise.
http://democrats.oversight.house.gov/images/stories/I2D_Act_Fact_Sheet.pdf
We are all whineing amongst each other, we need to shout it from the rooftops, that Congress are just a bunch of theifs that stold our money and won’t give it back. All we get is B.S. and legal mumbo jumbo that we commoners can’t understand!! We support the Industrial,Political, WAR MACHINE, that stole our money?? Wake up America before it’s to late!
Wake up people vote out of office Ross and Issa. They have no common sense. Congressman Elijah Cummings should be commended for his way of thinking.
this is wonderful it seems these people have good sence and are trully commited to the american people , employees and along time commitment with us rendering sevice a long time to america.
this is a good bit of legislation, if it gains traction. but do i trust rep cummings? don’t know. blacks are getting killed in this economy. if we lay off a lot of folks it will affect the black folks even more. some areas of states black unemployement is near 40%. he’s always been a race-baiter in the past and maybe he’s protecting his voter base, ok. but when the the s was hitting the fan 4 years ago where was he? has he finally woken up and seen this is more than just a jobs program or is he truly worried. i’ll give him credit for the latter. e know this “iceberg” has been in our path for a couple of years, but nothing was done until congress finally had to deal with it. blame Issa the turd all you want this coulda been resolved when dems had control. they ignored us and now we’re relevant? god help us………..
This bill sounds very good. I also wish they would look into how much over staffing we have from HQ down to Districts. Keep the people in place on the front lines that manage, process, sell and deliver. We can efficiently exist without Area’s and Districts we wouldn’t miss a beat at all if they did away with them tomorrow. The millions and millions that would save would shock everyone.
When you dismantle the very people that keep the company afloat on the front line, we will go under. Get rid of the top heavy and let us get to work and do what we do best. We started over 200 years ago with the basics of PM’s, clerks and carriers which made us the oldest company in existance. Get back to the basics I say and stop robbing us of our money then blaming us for why you ran out.
this will never work and the American people want change. we need a cross between this and Issa bill. time for change!!! the partys over…
This is a very good proposal. Issa and his bandwagon of idiots are surely going to oppose it on every level. It will certainly be nice to see a bill such as this passed. Representative Cummings appears to be fair and is for the working class people. There “is” a better way and solution other than “Issa the idiot’s” proposal.
Wake up people. Any of these bills could pass. You need to support the one you think is right.If you think hard working people should be screwed, then support Issa’s bill, and remember that when it’s YOUR turn. OR, show some common sense, and tell your congressman to support HR 1351. Not hard to see good people from losers, is it?
One of Issa’s top 5 contributors was pitney bowes…one of ross’ was publix supermarkets…..could only find them listed as HR2309 sponsors….HR1351 has 204 and counting….
Issa will never let it happen. To common sense for the car thief to get behind.
It’s to bad this bill couldn’t make it to the floor today though, It would surely pass.
Issa would rather strip down the service and put everyone out of work. Does he own stock in UPS and Fedex or what?
bravo, bravo!! as my brother nick stated above, if they can just get it passed!!!
Finally! Two performers from the “Circus in Washington” coming forth with a clear honest and fair way to deal with the Postal Services Problems.
Now if they can just get it pasted!
Makes sense, Issa will never allow it…. It’s not good enough for him unless he gets to steal our cars…. and houses…. and retirement….. livelyhood…… etc etc….
Makes sense, Issa will never allow it…. It’s not good enough for him unless he gets to steal our cars…. and houses…. and retirement….. livelyhood…… etc etc….
This is for once a good proposal, with one exception, if the P.O. management is allowed to change the service standards from 1-3 to 2-3 this will effect same city overnight bussiness mail and allow the P.O. to close many larger P&DC’s putting many people out of a job. I work at a P&DC 100 miles from a larger city that processes more mail than our plant. My city has over 1 million people in the metro area and even more in smaller surrounding towns, that our plant processes all of this mail. The logistics and time frame of transporting mail this distance for overnight, next day delivery cannot be met. If given 2 days it will easily be met. The P.O. has been for years now not considering the customer needs as much as they consider their own. Understand that if they close my P&DC, they will still need to truck the mail the same distance for distribution to all the city carrier stations and small towns surrounding our city. My opinion is they will do a better job allowing my P&DC to process mail and also keep our customers happy with the current 1-2 day service standards.
This bill is common sense, how does the Criminal Car thief GOP Rep. Issa think he can take away our retirements, anarchy and the peopl shall rise up in anger, looting, riots etc., Issa is a criminal, and That Speaker of the House ,Boner, better tell him to back off, or the loss will go to the GOP. Issa is making Obama and Cummings and Lynch look like Saints, and they are !, take away all I worked for ?, what do you think those that lose will do , Mr. Criminal Issa, your Brother took the rap for you how many times?, Damn car thief !, Rep. Issa during the Bush Admin.
If I rt layed off can I collect unemployment?
Finally some words of Wisdom. Lynch and Cummings are not just tooting their horns sounding like “attention getters” . It appears that they’ve done thier homewrok. Nice job gentlemen. Thats what you were elected to do. Stand up for the people. Bravo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It will never pass. Like anything else with the PO, if it makes sense, it won’t be implemented.
This is a start, but the Civil service overpayments into their retirement accounts belong to the Postal service and their hard working people! This money has been used by the Federal Goverment to artifitially keep their budget down.
Time to be honest and correct this mistake! The Cash cow needs her milk back!
best that I have heard about so far. Finally a little common sense in action.
Sounds pretty good.But what about the 50 to 75 billion overfunded for the CSRS.Use that to to offset the remaining balance toward the prepaid health over the next 6 years and also wipe out our 15 billion line of credit that we were forced to pay(when we had money) and borrowed the last 2 years.
some of the latest proposals put
forth from some politicians (cummins and lynch) actually use common sense
and seem to contain very sound ideas that may work! it gives me a ray of
hope for the future. not only for the post office but for the coming (maybe sooner) crisis this country will face concerning its debt. perhaps if the politicians would stop being puppets for their political parties and big donors then the necessary
legislation could be developed to guide this country successfully through the
“postal debacle” as well as the fiscal crisis on the horizon for the untied states of america.
Yes someone with common sense!
Now there is a proposal that works and I like the part Perssonel Right size?Right Now Lets gooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Best proposal I have seen ….sounds like two congressmen who really care about the post office and its employees…UNLIKE THE TWO WHO WET THEIR PANTS WHENEVER THEY REMEMBER HOW THE HELL DID I EVER ELECTED..ROSS AND ISSA. LOTS OF S’S IN THEIR NAMES, MUST MEAN SOMETHING….
Thank you Mr. Cummings and Mr. Lynch….