After working for several months to improve the postal reform legislation being debated in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Al Franken April 25 voted to pass the final version of the bill, which includes his amendment that gives communities the opportunity to fight to prevent closure of their local post offices and processing centers.
“Every Minnesotan should be able to get mail — after all, the postal service is discussed in the Constitution,” said Franken. “I’m proud of the work I’ve done to improve the postal reform bill that the Senate passed (April 25), and am pleased that this legislation will ensure that no matter where you live in Minnesota, you’ll still get your mortgage payments, local papers, and prescription drugs delivered in a timely fashion. And I’m glad that my amendment was included — it could save jobs and will make sure that communities have the opportunity to fight the closure of their local post offices and processing centers.”
A statement from the Postal Service Board of Governors, however, sited the Senate’s effort as a roadblock in a business plan “to make the Postal Service viable so it would not become a liability to the American people.”
“Unfortunately, action by the Senate (April 25) falls far short of the Postal Service’s plan,” the statement said. “We are disappointed that the Senate’s bill would not enable the Postal Service to return to financial viability...there is simply not enough mail in our system today...we remain hopeful that Congress will ultimately produce legislation that will enable the Postal Service to return to financial viability.”
Franken’s amendment to the postal reform bill gives the Postal Regulatory Commission the power to overturn scheduled post office and processing center closures when communities or individuals make a compelling case to keep the facility open. It would also prevent any closing or consolidation of postal facilities if the Postal Service cannot prove that they will result in substantial economic savings.
“We appreciate the hard work of the Senate in addressing postal issues, and we believe that there are important and valuable provisions contained in that legislation,” said Patrick Donahoe, postmaster general and chief executive officer of the U.S. Postal Service, in a statement. “We would have preferred the Senate allow the Postal Service to move further and faster in addressing its cost reduction goal.”
Franken also worked on an amendment that puts a moratorium on rural post office closings for two years that also passed in April. The final bill also included changes that Franken pushed for to maintain regional overnight delivery, which will save processing centers and jobs in Minnesota.
The Postal Service’s statement listed its daily losses at $25 million and an overall debt of $13 billion. An initial analysis of the legislation passed last month shows that losses would continue in both the short and long term.
Franken has been fighting to prevent the closure of postal facilities in Minnesota since last winter when he learned that processing centers in Duluth, Bemidji, Mankato, Rochester, and Waite Park and 117 post offices across the state were scheduled to be closed. In December, he joined a small group of his colleagues to successfully urge Donahoe to hold off on future closings until Congress could pass a postal reform plan. After a meeting with Franken and his colleagues, Donahoe agreed to place a moratorium on closings until May 15. Franken and his colleagues worked with the committee responsible for postal reform to protect local post offices and maintain mail delivery standards.
The Postal Reform bill that Franken worked to improve will save jobs and maintain the mail service businesses and residents depend on by refunding money to the postal service that it overpaid to the federal retirement system., he said. It will also reduce the requirement that the Postal Service prefund retiree health care benefits. No other agency or private company has this requirement.
“The Postal Service does not seek to be a burden to the American taxpayer,” Donahoe said, adding that the organization is developing a comprehensive five-year plan that would enable revenue generation and achieve cost reductions of $20 billion by 2015.
“The plan we have advanced is a fair and responsible approach for our customers, our employees, and the communities we serve,” Donahoe continued in a statement. “We are hopeful that the legislative process will continue and that enacted legislation will put the Postal Service on a sustainable path to the future.”
