The LEAGUE represents the “Voice of Postmasters” in efforts to protect and enhance the pay, benefits, and working conditions of Postmasters. The LEAGUE maintains a direct line of communication with Congress on issues of concern to Postmasters, to postal retirees and to the Postal Service.
Legislative Agenda 2009
Updated February 1, 2009
This year we are concentrating on two issues as we visit the hill:
1. the refinancing of the pre-funding of retiree health benefits
2. vote by mail.
Refinancing The Postal Service’s Pre-Funding Of Retiree Health Benefits.
When the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) passed Congress several years ago, it set up a system under which the Postal Service is
pre-funding your retiree health benefits. The Postal Service pays almost $8 billion per year for both current retiree health benefits and the prefunding of future ones. Given the financial crisis that our economy and the Postal Service are in, an $8 Billion burden is no longer tenable.
Legislation introduced by Congressmen Danny Davis and John McHugh would change that and take the payment for current retiree health benefits and pre-funding of benefits down to $5 billion a year, thus saving the Postal Service somewhere around $2 billion per year.
The bill is numbered H.R. 22.
Vote By Mail.
There are several pieces of federal legislation that encourage voting by mail, or “early voting” as it is known. The League supports these measures.
Other concerns:
Small Post Offices.
Discussing small post offices is a particularly good idea if your Congressman or Senator is new. Although there is not legislation that threatens small post offices, in light of the current financial crisis, it is almost inevitable that some uninformed legislator is going to think that closing small post offices could save the Postal Service a lot of money. That is not true!
If one were to close the smallest 10,000 post offices, the saving to the Postal Service would be negligible—less than one percent of the Postal Service’s budget— while the damage to rural American communities would be incalculable..
Locality Pay and Colas.
For years the federal work force has received cost-of-living increases that are keyed into the different localities around the country. The League, NAPUS and NAPS are developing legislation that would ensure that you receive a cost-of-living increase each year, and that it is based on the cost-of-living in your area, using the existing federal locality pay structure.
Premium Conversion.
Discussing premium conversion with your representatives is also a good idea, for—finally—the time for this issue is coming, as Congress examines and reforms our dysfunctional health care system. In doing so, premium conversion will inevitably be put on the table. As Congress begins to wrestle with the very thorny issue of how to reform our dysfunctional health care system, allowing postmasters to pay for their health insurance with pre-tax dollars should be part of that solution.
Do Not Mail
Although it is a state issue, “Do Not Mail is also very important.”
Another issue is Windfall Elimination and GPO, a new issue we are putting together but are not yet prepared to lobby .
