Bill now heads to the President’s desk for signature

March 9, 2022 - WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, voted to pass the Postal Service Reform Act. Padilla is a cosponsor of the long-overdue, bipartisan legislation containing historic reforms that would eliminate unnecessary financial burdens, strengthen transparency and accountability for Postal Service performance, and ensure the Postal Service can better serve the American people.

“Millions of Americans and businesses rely on the Postal Service to deliver our medicine, ballots, and retail goods—securely and on time. These reforms are long overdue,” said Padilla. “I’m glad to support this bill to help secure the future of the Postal Service. I’m committed to continue working with my colleagues to ensure that the Postal Service lives up to our climate and public health commitments by dramatically increasing the electrification of the mail delivery fleet.”

Padilla previously voted to pass the bill out of committee and bring it to the Senate floor.

The Postal Service Reform Act would provide key financial and operational reforms to the United States Postal Service. The bill would eliminate the burdensome prefunding requirement that has hurt the Postal Service financially, and integrate postal worker retirees’ health care with Medicare. Together, these two reforms would create more than $49 billion in savings for the Postal Service over the next ten years.

In addition, the bill would require the Postal Service to maintain its standard of delivering at least six days a week. The legislation would improve transparency of Postal Service operations to both customers and Congress by requiring the publication of easily accessible local weekly service data on the Postal Service website, as well as regular and detailed reporting to Congress on Postal Service finances and operations. The bill also includes additional provisions for Postal Service effectiveness, accountability and growth.

The legislation is unanimously supported by our nation’s four leading postal unions – NALC, American Postal Workers Union (APWU), National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), and the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA) – which collectively represent 650,000 postal employees and retirees. It’s also supported by the California State Association of Letter Carriers.

To see the full text of the Postal Service Reform Act, please click here.
Source: Senator Alex Padilla