Senator Brown's Bipartisan Postal Reform Bill Passes Senate

Press Release

Today, another major piece of legislation introduced and championed by U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) passed the Senate. The bipartisan bill to reform and modernize the United States Postal Service, the 21st Century Postal Service Act (S.1789), introduced with cosponsors Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tom Carper (D-DE), passed with strong bipartisan support in an effort to bring the Postal Service back from the brink of bankruptcy and reposition the organization for long-term fiscal solvency.

"The passage of this important bill is more proof to the American people that Republicans and Democrats can come together and solve real problems," said Senator Brown. "Saving the Postal Service from bankruptcy is an issue that has a major impact on American communities and businesses. Millions of jobs and the flow of commerce depend on the solution we passed today. I hope our colleagues in the House choose to pass a balanced and bipartisan postal reform bill as well, because the Postal Service is running out of time and we cannot afford any further delay."

Passage of S. 1789 is the first step towards helping the Postal Service right-size and modernize to meet the changing demands of postal customers now and in the future. The bill protects millions of American jobs and the economic well-being of the trillion dollar mailing industry. The House of Representatives must now pass its version of a postal reform bill.

Details of S.1789, the 21st Century Postal Service Act:

The bill gives the Postal Service the tools to responsibly address excess workforce, saving an estimated $8 billion annually, through employee buy-outs and early retirement incentives made with funds from the return of overpayments made by the Postal Service into the Federal Employee Retirement System. These are not tax dollars; the payments were made from the Postal Service's revenues.
For the first time in 35 years, the bill overhauls the Federal Workers' Compensation program, not only at the Postal Service, but across the entire federal government. Retirement-age recipients' benefits will better mirror what their counterparts in the federal pension systems and private sector workers receive under state laws. This reform restores the mission of the program: supporting injured workers to recover and return to work, rather than offering a tax-free retirement.
In a push for greater efficiency, the bill authorizes the Postal Service to convert delivery from the front door to the curb where practical and cost-effective. The USPS Inspector General has estimated that such a move could cut costs by as much as $4.5 billion per year.
The bill encourages the Postal Service to operate more like a business: by cutting internal costs first instead of driving away customers with service cuts or price hikes. The bill:
Replaces the current process for locating retail outlets with one that will allow right-sizing of the retail network based on the needs of customers;
Retains an expectation of overnight delivery service around mail processing facilities while providing the Postal Service with the flexibility to right-size its delivery network;
Ensures that elimination of delivery days is a last resort, not a first option, by giving USPS two years to reduce operational costs before any elimination of Saturday service can be implemented;
Requires the Postal Service to consider the financial impact on customers and communities before changing service standards or consolidating facilities;
Allows the Postal Service to ship wine and beer, as well as to offer new products and services as long as there was a demonstrated public need and it would not create unfair competition with the private sector.

Restructures payments on long-term obligations which the Postal Service has stopped paying for lack of cash, ensuring that taxpayers won't ultimately be on the hook by immediately moving to the 40-year amortized payment schedule that would otherwise have started in 2017.

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