Yesterday, Congress passed legislation that will ensure six-day-per-week mail delivery and save the U.S. Postal Service a reported $50 billion over the next decade. It’s now being sent to President Biden’s desk for final signature.
“The post office usually delivers to us, but today we’re going to deliver to them,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, according to WECT.
The House approved the bill last month 342-92 in a show of bipartisanship. It went to the president’s desk this week on a 79-19 (D-R) vote.
BREAKING: The $107 billion USPS overhaul package will become law.
It passes the Senate 79-19, after previously passing the House. President Biden has signaled he will sign it.
The 15-year road to postal reform is over.
[https://t.co/4D01MFhnmX] pic.twitter.com/9sR7Vn9oRE
— (((Jacob Bogage))) (@jacobbogage) March 8, 2022
The legislation, called the Postal Service Reform Act, will lift budget requirements that have contributed to the U.S. Postal Service’s debt issues, and would set in law that the mail will be delivered six days per week aside from federal holidays and natural disasters. It also would end the requirement that USPS finances workers’ health care benefits ahead of time for the next 75 years, instead requiring future retirees to enroll in Medicare and pay current retirees’ health care costs not covered by Medicare.
“We need to save our Postal Service,” Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said, adding that the bill is not a bailout as no new funding will go toward the USPS.
In order to measure the USPS’s progress in improving service, the Postal Service Reform Act will also include an online dashboard where people can plug in their ZIP code and see how long it would take to deliver packages.
PRINTING United Alliance, Promo Marketing’s parent organization, partnered with postal organizations such as Keep US Posted, The Package Coalition and more to advocate for the legislation. The Postal Service Reform Act benefits not only Alliance members, but the print and promotional products industry overall.
“The passage of the Senate of this major piece of postal reform legislation is a victory not just for the printing community, but for households and businesses around the country,” said Ford Bowers, CEO, PRINTING United Alliance. “Critical steps to ensure the long-term success of the USPS have come to fruition with the passage of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, and we couldn’t be more pleased to see the advancement and major step forward. We eagerly await President Biden’s signature to officially be signed into law.”
