Reps. Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Tom Reed (NY-23), Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Colin Allred (TX-32) and Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) today announced reintroduction of the USPS Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation to provide the United States Postal Service (USPS) much-needed financial relief by ending the agency’s burdensome prefunding mandate on future retiree health benefits.
“Americans depend on a reliable Postal Service. This is especially true for rural areas as well as veterans and seniors in my district, who count on six-day and door-to-door service for their mail, small businesses, and prescription medications,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR-04). “The unreasonable prefunding mandate has threatened the survival of the USPS and placed at risk vital services for the millions who rely on it. The prefunding mandate policy is based on the absurd notion of paying for the retirement funds of people who do not yet, and may not ever, work for the Postal Service. I’m hopeful that, under a Biden Administration, we can finally repeal this ludicrous policy, provide the USPS with critical financial relief, and take the first step towards much-needed comprehensive reform.”
“We care about solving the Postal Service’s financial burdens to ensure millions of Americans, particularly those in more rural areas, do not lose access to critical postal services,” said Rep. Tom Reed (NY-23). “The prefunding mandate is unfair, uneconomic, and inhibits the USPS from focusing on the services the American people rely on, including life-saving medication deliveries or high priority mail. Congress must act to restore the financial integrity of USPS.”