Bipartisan Postal Reform Bill signed into law
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News from the offices of Senator Daines, Senator Tester
U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines was at the White House for the official signing ceremony of his bipartisan bill that supports the United States Postal Service (USPS).
“Happy to be at the White House today to celebrate my bipartisan bill to revitalize and support the Postal Service being signed into law. My bipartisan bill will help the Postal Service better serve folks across Montana, which is especially important for Montana seniors, veterans and rural communities. It will also help maintain deliveries six days per week! I was glad to work across the aisle and help get this done for Montana,” Daines said.
U.S. Senator Tester celebrated after President Biden signed his bipartisan Postal Reform Act into law. This critical legislation will ensure long-term, reliable mail service and put the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) on sound financial footing.
“It’s a great day for Montana and for mail delivery in rural America, where the Postal Service is a critical lifeline to prescription medication, Social Security benefits, services for small businesses, and staying connected to family and friends,” said Tester. “I’m proud to have worked across the aisle to get this legislation across the finish line, which will ensure six-day mail delivery, hold the USPS accountable for improving service, and put the agency on sound financial footing so that Montana families can depend on reliable and affordable mail delivery for years to come.”
Postal Reform Act includes:
— Medicare Integration: Requires future Postal Service retirees, who have been paying into Medicare their entire careers, to enroll in Medicare. Currently, roughly a quarter of postal retirees do not enroll in Medicare even though they are eligible. This means USPS is forced to pay higher premiums than any other public or private sector employer. By better integrating Medicare, the Postal Service estimates it could save approximately $22.7 billion over 10 years.
— Eliminating Health Care Prefunding Requirement: Eliminates the 2006 prefunding requirement for retiree healthcare that has added billions in liabilities to the USPS balance sheet. The Postal Service estimates this provision would drastically reduce its prefunding liability allowing it to save $27 billion over 10 years.
— Service Performance Transparency: Requires the Postal Service to develop a public-facing, online dashboard with national and local level service performance data updated each week to provide additional transparency and promote compliance with on-time delivery of mail.
— Six-Day Delivery: Permanently require the Postal Service to maintain its standard of delivering at least six days a week.
— Non-Postal Services: Allows the Postal Service to partner with State, local, and Tribal governments to offer non-postal services (hunting and fishing licenses, for example) that provide enhanced value to the public, as long as they do not detract from core postal services and provided the agreements cover their costs.
— Rural Newspaper Sustainability: Expands customer base for special rates for rural newspaper distribution to promote local newspapers.
