Schakowsky Statement on Passage of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, released the following statement on the passage of H.R. 3076 – Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 by a vote of 342-92:

"Today I was proud to vote for and help pass H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, out of the House. The United States Postal Service (USPS) remains one of our nation's most beloved and integral agencies. Even before the pandemic, Americans relied on the Postal Service to deliver social security checks, lifesaving medications, letters from their loved ones, and so much more. Since the start of the pandemic, it has become even more important: delivering people's stimulus checks, mail-in-ballots, and most recently, COVID-19 rapid tests.

"After more than a decade, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 would finally remove the pre-funding mandate which requires USPS to prepay retiree health benefits 75 years in advance. In addition, the bill reforms the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHB) to require all employees to enroll in Medicare Part B, reducing the cost of health benefits while maintaining employees' quality affordable health care. Together, these two provisions will save the Postal Service more than $50 billion over the next ten years.

"This critical legislation would also require mail to be delivered at least 6 days a week, establish an online ‘service dashboard' that allows customers to track delivery performance, establish semi-annual reports to Congress on the implementation of its ten-year strategic plan, promote transparency and reporting from the Postal Service and the Postal Regulatory Commission, and initiate a review of the pricing of competitive and non-competitive products. Finally, the bill would require a postage discount for rural newspapers.

"While this is a historic step towards improving the Postal Service's reliability, financial security, and longevity, our work is not done. We must continue to work to identify and address systemic problems facing the agency. Millions of Americans rely on the Postal Service, and it must meet their needs."

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