April 2025 Update
Our eyes remain focused on Capitol Hill as Congress continues to debate legislation and resolutions which have the potential to affect the Postal Service as well as the benefits we receive. There have been some positive developments; but the threat continues to loom large. So, let’s look at the current situation.
First the House, and now the Senate, have resolutions pending to express the sense of the respective body that the Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Government and that it is not subject to privatization.
House Resolution 70 (H. Res. 70) was introduced by Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-MA) in late January, and it desires to express the sense of the House that “… Congress should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Federal Government and is not subject to privatization.” H. Res. 70 has been referred to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee where it currently remains. It is worth noting, however, that H. Res. 70 enjoys some bipartisan support with 12 Republican cosponsors joining with 190 Democratic cosponsors.
Senate Resolution 147 (S. Res. 147) was introduced by Senator Gary Peters, C. (D-MI) in late March 27th, along with 4 Republican cosponsor and 1 Democratic cosponsor. Since then, 2 additional Democratic cosponsors have added their names to this resolution. S. Res. 147 desires to “expresses the sense of the Senate that Congress should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Federal Government and is not subject to privatization.” S. Res. 147 was referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs where it currently remains.
Anyone who may be interested in following the status of, or reviewing the text of either resolution, may do so at the following links: H. Res. 70 at congress.gov or S. Res. 147 at congress.gov.
It must be noted that these types of resolutions, which seek to express the sense of either the House or the Senate, do not carry the force of law. If passed, and unlike a legislative change, they are not subject to Presidential approval or veto. Still, they serve to indicate the likelihood of passing future legislation within the House and Senate. The greater significance, however, is that the existence of such resolutions, which seek to express a sense that the Postal Service remain an “independent establishment”, are opposed to the absorbing the Postal Service into another Federal agencies (like the Commerce Department).
While the status of the Postal Service as an “independent establishment” does not seem to be in any immediate jeopardy (for now), the pay and benefits of Postal employees are under attack. On April 30th, Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee advance a plan which would affect the pay and benefits received by Postal and Federal employees. Specifically, raising the FERS retirement contribution to 4.4% of salary for all Postal employees, reducing the FERS pension by basing a retiree’s annuity payment on an average of their highest five years of earnings (instead of the current highest three), and eliminating the supplemental FERS retirement annuity payment for future retirees. The current administration, and their allies in Congress have show nothing but contempt for Postal and Federal employees and they are now attempting to make these changes through the current “budget resolution.” The threats to pay and benefits have been well reported by various media outlets and a more detail account of the Committee’s most recent actions can be found at govexec.com.
The reductions in benefits advanced by the Committee are not the law yet. In addition, it remains to be seen whether these changes, as currentl written, will make it into the final budget resolution. But this is still quite unsettling.
JL