CONGRESS NOT DEALING WITH RHBF AND PENSION OVERPAYMENTS
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADERS BLAME POSTAL EMPLOYEES
As the September 30, 2011 end of the 2011 Fiscal Year fast approaches, the Postal Service claims that it will be unable to meet all of its financial obligations on that date if Congress does not act to eliminate or substantially reduce the required payment of $5.5 billion into the Retiree Health Benefits Fund. As previously reported, it is imperative that Congress acts to halt these annual USPS payments, as there already is more than $42 billion in the RHBF, and no other government agency or private entity is required to make such overpayments.
If this year’s $5.5 billion payment into the RHBF is not waived or delayed, the USPS is projecting a loss for the entire FY2011 of more than $8 billion, with a loss of $5.6 billion already reported through the nine months ending June 2011. Moreover, even if the RHBF payment is not required, the Postal Service is still facing a multi-billion dollar loss for the year ending in September.
In response to these potential losses, primarily caused by the continuing slowdown in the American economy and the decreasing volume of first-class mail, the Postal Service continues in its efforts to downsize. The USPS is still pressing Congress to allow for five-day delivery, and PMG Patrick Donahoe is now publicly forecasting a reduction to three-day delivery over the next two decades. Also recently, the Postal Service announced plans to close almost 3,700 smaller post offices and other facilities, and has asked the Postal Regulatory Commission to issue an advisory opinion on that subject. And, the Postal Service has indicated that it will be seeking major cuts and reductions in ongoing and upcoming collective bargaining negotiations with the NPMHU and both carrier unions.
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the Republican leaders of the relevant house committees march ahead with their efforts to destroy collective bargaining for postal employees, force rapid downsizing of the mail processing network, and reduce workers compensation benefits for injured federal and postal employees. Their latest “postal reform” bill, H.R. 2309, would establish new commissions to oversee the USPS Board of Governors and would authorize the abrogation of current and future collective bargaining agreements if the Postal Service were unable to bargain concessions directly with the unions. The focus of this misguided bill, as previously stated, is to blame postal employees who are faithfully serving the American people, while trying to absolve the Congress from its responsibilities for the recent financial decline of the Postal Service.
A more appropriate solution to these issues is found in Representative Stephen Lynch’s pending bill – H.R. 1351 – which has obtained bipartisan support from more than 180 Members of Congress. If enacted, this bill would address the Postal Service’s current overfunding of the RHBF, as well as its past overpayments to the CSRS and FERS retirement systems. It also does not seek to hinder the collective bargaining process, so that the parties to each National Agreement would be able to reach mutually acceptable solutions to the Postal Service’s long-term financial issues.
If you have not already done so, you are encouraged to write to your representatives in Congress and urge them to support H.R. 1351.
