3/9/22 - New Reforms For The U.S. Postal Service

It's been nearly 15 years since there have been new reforms for the United States Postal Service.

-The U.S. Senate passed legislation that will help support the U.S. Postal Service Department.  It has been years since there have been such reforms.

The long-fought postal overhaul has been years in the making and comes amid widespread complaints about mail service slowdowns.             

Officials have repeatedly warned that without congressional action it would run out of cash by 2024.

The Postal Service Reform Act would lift some budget requirements that have contributed to the Postal Service's red ink and would set in law the requirement that the mail is delivered six days a week, except in the case of federal holidays, natural disasters and a few other situations.

Postage sales and other services were supposed to sustain the Postal Service, but it has suffered 14 straight years of losses.                         Growing workers' compensation and benefit costs, plus steady declines in mail volume, have contributed to the red ink, even as the Postal Service delivers to 1 million additional locations every year.

The Postal Service would also require future retirees to enroll in Medicare and would pay current retirees' actual health care costs that aren't covered by the federal health insurance program for older people.