WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03) voted in favor of the Postal Service Reform Act (PSRA). The Postal Service Reform bill implements significant changes to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) operation including integrating Medicare for current and future employees for their health care, saving the agency billions of dollars, and allowing USPS to provide non-postal services including for state governments and other federal agencies.
It also includes a six-day delivery mandate and new transparency measures to ensure oversight on USPS’ performance.
“Postal reform means ensuring that our postal service provides the most efficient service to the more than 159 million business and customers it serves each day. Today’s vote is about modernizing and protecting the financial integrity of this valued and trusted institution and doing away with the overly onerous 2006 Republican-led prefund mandate that has strangled USPS finances for far too long ,” said Rep. Grijalva. “The pandemic has proven just how vital USPS is and I’m proud to support this legislation and the hardworking members of the postal service.
“I am so pleased to hear that H.R.3076 is finally being heard and Postal Reform is within reach, thanks to bipartisan support,” said Jeff Clark, President of the Arizona State Association of Letter Carriers. “Thank you Republicans, Democrats and Independents for saving the number two employer of veterans in America, God willing.”
“UPMA applauds you for your bipartisan approach to postal reform during the 117th Congress,” said Edmund Carley, National President, United Postmasters and Managers of America. “The issues facing the United States Postal Service and its employees have patiently waited for the action you are taking, and we are incredibly grateful for the efforts you’ve made to bring this legislation forward. The PSRA will help the USPS make changes to improve that level of satisfaction and confidence.”
The Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 enacts several overdue changes to address these financial challenges, improve mail delivery and support postal workers and retirees, including:
• Welcoming all future postal retirees into Medicare, delivering quality health care to our committed public servants while saving the Postal Service $22.6 billion over the next decade.
• Repealing a burdensome requirement forcing the Postal Service to prefund retirees’ health care 75 years in advance, saving $27 billion over the next decade.
• Promoting reliable delivery and transparency through a public-facing, online dashboard featuring national and local level service performance data.
• Codifying the Postal Service’s longtime tradition of delivering mail and packages six days per week.
• Allowing the Postal Service to raise additional revenues by offering non-commercial property and services to state, local and tribal governments.
More information on the PRSA is available here.