The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on June 22 voted, 15-1, to approve postal reform legislation drafted by Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tom Carper (D-DE) and send it to the Senate floor.

This latest action on the long road to revamp the 1970 Postal Reorganization Act came as Republican leaders in the House decided to put off until after the July 4th recess any floor debate or votes on a similar bill (H.R. 22 - Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act) authored by Rep. John McHugh (R-NY) that was approved, 39-0, by the House Government Reform Committee on April 13.

NALC President William H. Young praised the action of the Senate Committee as a positive step toward eventual reform of the government’s postal laws that will enable the U.S. Postal Service be more competitive and financially viable and thereby protect the jobs and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of letter carriers and other postal employees.

Young said, however, that the union opposes a provision in the Senate bill dealing with the "banking" of amounts of allowable, but unused, postage rate increases in a manner that could have a negative impact on collective bargaining. He said he was optimistic that Collins and Carper will work with NALC to resolve that issue as the legislation proceeds. The House bill does not include such a provision.

"Chairman Collins and Senator Carper deserve a great deal of appreciation for their steadfast dedication to getting this very complex legislation ready for floor action with the approval of virtually the committee’s entire membership," Young said. "The NALC plans to continue to work closely with them and others in the Senate to ensure that the bill that finally emerges will be one that every letter carrier in this nation can enthusiastically support."

The only vote in committee against the bill came from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), who voiced White House objection to a provision that would transfer from the Postal Service to the Treasury Department responsibility for paying the military pension benefits of retired postal employees. USPS is the only government agency required to pick up such costs.

The Collins-Carper bill, as approved, would transfer the responsibility, a move supported by NALC. The bill also includes another provision backed by NALC that would repeal a current requirement that monies owed to the Postal Service due to overpayments to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) be held in escrow. The Collins-Carper bill would allow the escrow funds to be used to pre-fund post-retirement health benefit costs, pay off Treasury debt, use for operating expenses and to reduce rate increases.

The Senate version of the legislation, as approved, is estimated to cost about $1 billion lower than the House version over a five-year period.

"Our comprehensive, bipartisan legislation will help put the Postal Service on more solid financial ground while strongly endorsing the basic features of universal service – affordable rates, frequent delivery, and convenient community access to retail postal services," Chairman Collins said after the vote.

Carper noted that the bill would give USPS the tools to survive at a time many customers enjoy multiple electronic alternatives to traditional hard-copy mail. "Passage of this legislation will preserve the health of the nearly $1 trillion mailing industry and the millions of American jobs that depend on it," Carper said.