The National Postal Mail Handlers Union and its allies have worked for well over a decade to bring comprehensive, bipartisan postal reform to the halls of Congress. This work resulted in the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, H.R. 3076. As my NPMHU brothers and sisters remember, the bill passed with overwhelming support in the House of Representatives by a vote of 342-92 on February 8. The Senate followed suit, and passed it on March 8, with 79 Senators voting in favor of it.
The Postal Service Reform Act repeals the burdensome 2006 mandate for the USPS to prefund its retiree healthcare benefits and aligns retiree healthcare with the best practices in the private sector that lower premiums for NPMHU members and our fellow postal employees as well as safeguarding benefits. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation will save the federal government over $1.5 billion over the next ten years.
Senators Gary Peters and Rob Portman worked tirelessly and fervently with Democratic and Republican members alike to reach consensus on this important and necessary legislation. I am grateful for their work, as well as that of Representatives Carolyn Maloney and James Comer, who ushered H.R. 3076 through the House.
I look forward to President Biden signing this bill into law, and providing the Postal Service with much needed fiscal stability.