NAPUS – April 19, 2012

At at Tele Town Hall Meeting, conducted this afternoon, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin predicted that S. 1789 will reach a final vote next week. However. the Senate needs to whittle down the almost 80 amendments to the legislation, including amendments to the underlying bill, as well as amendments to the so-called managers’ amendment.

Today, hundreds of NAPUS members from across the country participated in a Tele Town Hall meeting hosted by the Office of the U.S. Senate Majority Leader. Joining the Assistant Majority Leader at the tele-meeting were Senators Mark Begich and Bernie Sanders. The three senators briefed the participants on the status of the legislation and the complicated amendment process. After the formal briefing, the Senators opened-up the phone lines for comments and questions. NAPUS members brought up provisions in S. 1789 and the managers’ amendment relating to the structure of the USPS, post office protection, and retirement incentives. Yesterday, about 80 Arkansas NAPUS members participated in a teleconference with Senator Mark Pryor.

Earlier today, a Senate cloture vote on the “motion to proceed” to consider Senate Amendment 2000, the managers’ amendment, was postponed. Sens. Joesph Lieberman, Susan Collins, Tom Carper and Scott Brown huddled with the Senate Leadership (Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell) to reach an agreement to limit the number of amendments and establish the procedure for their consideration. Some amendments actually overlap with or duplicate one another, while other non-controversial ones could be adopted by “unanimous consent.” Nevertheless, the Senate will still be confronted with significant procedural obstacles, in the absence of a procedural agreement.

One of the amendments referenced in yesterday’s legislative posting was Senate Amendment 2031. As previously mentioned, Senator Claire McCaskill, along with Senators Merkley, Baucus, Begich, Tester, and Sanders offered this amendment, which enhances the post office protections included in the managers’ amendment. NAPUS President Robert Rapoza has sent a letter to Senators supporting the amendment. Link to letter.

Although a procedural vote is possible, NAPUS expects that Senate Leadership discussions to continue throughout the weekend to reach an agreement.