Legislative Update

Postal reform bill S. 1789 passed the Senate by a vote of 62-37 today, April 25, 2012, close to 5:00 PM EST. The NRLCA opposed final passage of this bill. S. 1789 eliminates six-day delivery after two years and refunds $11bn in FERS overpayments, some of which will be used for buyouts. In an effort [...]

The Senate began voting today (April 24) on the amendments to S. 1789.  Overall  39 total amendments were submitted.  The NRLCA supported Sen. Tom Udall amendment, #2043, failed to get the necessary 60 votes it needed to pass, failing by a vote of 56-43.   The Senate has adjourned for the night, and will reconvene [...]

The Senate is expected to begin voting on the amendments to S. 1789 tomorrow (April 24) beginning around 2:15 PM EST, and is expected to run late Tuesday night and possibly into Wednesday.  If you have not already done so, please contact your Senators tomorrow and urge them to support Senate Amendment #2043 (offered by [...]

https://www.nrlca.org/Admin/UploadedImages/ContentDocument/Amendments%20to%20S1789%20(summary%20version).pdf

On Tuesday, a string of 39 amendments will hit the Senate floor in rapid succession for only two minutes each of debate. That’s 120 seconds to make sure the one amendment to save 6-day mail delivery passes: Senate Amendment 2043. When you consider the fact that Senate Amendment 2043 is being required to achieve the [...]

A new amendment to Senate Bill 1789 would establish a separate health insurance program for Medicare-eligible Postal retirees and their spouses. By placing Medicare covered retirees and their spouses in a separate program, premiums for all remaining FEHB Plan members will dramatically increase (up to 35%). The NRLCA opposes this new amendment. Current employees and [...]

Seventy-plus amendments have been filed for S. 1789. Currently, the Senate leaders are negotiating the amendment process moving forward.  As the Legislative Department begins to review every amendment submitted, we urge you to contact your Senators and tell them to support Senate Amendment 2043.  Senate Amendment 2043 would maintain 6-day mail delivery. This amendment has been [...]

The Senate brought S. 1789 to the floor on Tuesday, April 17th, around 11 AM for a motion-to-proceed “cloture” vote. The postal reform bill needs sixty votes to continue the process of becoming law.   If the bill receives sixty votes, the Senate will begin debate. The NRLCA expects numerous amendments to be offered, the first of which [...]

The Senate’s attempt to move forward with postal reform bill S. 1789 failed today by a vote of 51 to 46.   A motion-to-proceed vote offered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) failed to garner the 60 votes needed to begin debate on a final version of the bill. Today’s development could mean we [...]

Senator Collins (R-ME) gave a powerful speech on the Senate Floor on Tuesday, March 20th, speaking about the disastrously flawed plan of the Postal Service to reduce delivery frequency, cut service standards, and close mail processing facilities and rural post offices.   Addressing the importance of the bipartisan postal reform bill she has cosponsored with [...]

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID HAS FILED CLOSURE TO PROCEED WITH THE SENATE POSTAL BILL, S. 1789 More information to follow as the story develops… via National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association.

The House of Representatives is positioning itself to pay for a massive transportation funding bill on the backs of federal and postal employees by raising pension contributions, eliminating the social security supplement, and changing the multiplier used for retirement calculations. Although details have been changing day-by-day, it is becoming more clear that the House plans [...]

Follow all of the bills pending in Congress that affect the USPS on our Postallegislation website.  This list will update when anything new happens on the 20 something bills that have been introduced. Bookmark it so you can come back later and see any changes!   PostalLegislation.com.

On February 17, 2012, the House and Senate both passed a provision affecting the pension benefits and contributions of all future federal employees. The measure is expected to be signed by President Barack Obama when he returns to Washington, DC. Current federal and postal employees will not be affected. The House of Representatives convened in [...]

WASHINGTON, DC – On behalf of the 123,000 bargaining unit members represented by the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, we strongly urge Members of the House of Representatives to vote against H.R. 3630, a bill that would increase retirement contributions for future federal and postal employees. While the NRLCA recognizes the need to extend the payroll tax [...]