NALC News – 7/12/16 – The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on July 12 advanced the Postal Service Reform Act of 2016 (H.R. 5714), a bipartisan bill introduced by leaders of the committee.
Below is a statement from National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredric Rolando in response to the legislation:
While this legislation is not perfect and contains unacceptable reductions in door delivery, NALC appreciates the committee’s dedication to working together and with stakeholders in a bipartisan manner to restore financial stability to this vitally important agency.
Today’s committee action on this House bill is step one in a very long process for Congress. As the bill is currently drafted, we would oppose its final passage. But there will be plenty of opportunity to address the deficiencies in this bill.
In particular, we believe that stakeholders will come to see how detrimental the door delivery cuts contained in the bill would be for this agency and for businesses around the country that depend on a strong Postal Service network.
In fact, more than 200 House members agree with us, having co-sponsored a bipartisan House resolution (H. Res. 28) calling for the preservation of door delivery.
As the legislative process moves forward, we will seek other improvements in the bill as well.
NALC and the strong coalition of postal unions, industry stakeholders and the Postal Service are committed to working with committee leadership to reach consensus on legislation that we all can support.
Please Note: PEN does not accept comments that contain vulgar language in any form. PEN agrees with you…this bill is NOT good for postal retirees and should NOT pass as written.
Really does screw postal retirees, especially civil service retirees. It was easy to see the postal unions had decided to use the retirees as a ‘give’ to management. Because, what do they care about us. We don’t pay them dues.
Retirees should be grandfathered in with no change in how it works for them now. I’m a civil service retiree. If this bill was successful, as it is, I would have pay for Medicare B & D in addition to the postal services ‘ special’ retiree health care plan.
If there were no inflation, and therefore no increase in pension checks, people who pay their Medicare premiums out of their Social security checks , would not have to pay any increase in Medicare premiums. If there is a small increase they would only have to pay any increase only up to the amount of their inflation increase.
However as a civil service retiree system retiree, I don’t have a social security check, and I would not be held harmless. Anyone who doesn’t have their Medicare premiums taken out of a social security check would have to pay the ENTIRE increase. Not just their share of the increase, but EVERYONE’S share of the increase. The increase in 2016 for me would have been around a 50% increase in my Medicare premium for Meficare B. There was a workaround passed so my premium would increase about 25% in 2016, with other increases coming in subsequent years so those of us without social security would pay for the increase. Those with social security had NO increase in their Medicare premiums in 2016. Something similar is likely to happen in 2017.
That is only one of the injustices of this bill.
Even if we pay for Medicare B & D, we will not get to keep the insurance we currently have or ANY Federal Employee Health Care Plan. The postal service would have a ‘special’ health care plan made up only for postal service retirees. That would be the only plan we would be eligible for. We would not have the same benefits as we now have.
All these people, who are backing this raw deal for retirees, want, is to get at the billions of dollars stashed away for postal service retiree health care. They will cut our benefits and give use a severely cut back Heath care plan, and make a grab for our money.
Additionally, having a million or more of retires added to Medicare will have a negative effect on Medicare. I read in fortune.com 6/22/16, that Medicare will exhaust its reserves in 2028. That is 12 years from now. What will adding hundreds of thousands or a million or more additional people to Medicare do to that estimate. Make it 10 years from now? And then what? What happens to the health care plans that we are contractually entitled to? Even congress recognized it was part of our contract. That was why they passed a bill requiring the postal service to prefund retiree health care. They went overboard when they required it to prefund for 75 years in 10(I think it was). They required the postal service to fund retiree health care for employees not yet born. That was a problem. Address that ridiculous part of the prefunding and that would probably solve the problem. In fact there is probably enough money in the fund now that, with fair interest paid in, to cover the requirement. As long as congress or the postal service don’t get their hands on it. But I expect the usps and congress knows this……but all that money, such a temptation for them.
I concur with disgusted. this is total bs (edited by PEN) by the house, and postal unions leadership towards postal retirees. They are screwing us by putting more cost on the backs of the postal retiree who cannot afford this. It is one hell of an expensive health insurance supplement (FEHBP) if passed and make retirees s sign up for medicare which would become first payer, and then FEHBP would screw us worse by denying any additional benefits or payments.
Again as stated by Disgusted above this is not whining, but a valid complaint of getting screwed by our so called elected representatives, postal service, and postal unions leadership. Placing an additional burden and cost on the backs of postal retirees who cannot afford it, It is not fair to retirees to force them to join medicare after the fact that they have already retired and made their election to stay with FEHBP and not to enroll in medicare
a,b, c, or d. Current retirees and those who have an approved retirement date should be grandfathered as of the effective date the bill takes effect. Give them the choice if they wish
to enroll in Medicare and pay more for themselves and spouses for the rest of their lives, I really don’t think there will be many takers.
THIS IS TOTAL BS FOR POSTAL RETIREES. IF WOULD FORCE US TO PAY MORE THAN FEDERAL RETIREES, AND ACTIVE POSTAL WORKERS, IF WE ARE FORCED TO JOIN MEDICARE, NOT ONLY WOULD WE HAVE TO PAY FOR OURSELVES BUT ALSO FOR OUR SPOUSES FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES. WHERE IS THE FAIRNESS IN THIS WHEN WE GET A LOT LESS AS RETIREES AND CAN’T AFFORD TO PAY EXTRA. YEA YEA I KNOW ABOUT POSTAL SERVICE TO PAY PORTION FOR THE FIRST 3 YEARS. STILL WE GET A L LESS AND WOULD PAY MORE THAN OTHER. IT IS NOT WHINING AS A LOT OF ACTIVE POSTAL WORKERS WILL SAY. WE WHO HAVE RETIRED SHOULD BE GRANDFATHERED AND GIVEN THE CHOICE NOT FORCED
INTO SOME THING WE HAVE EARNED AND DO NOT WANT. LETS BE FAIR TO THE
POSTAL RETIREE, GIVE US THE CHOICE, DON’T SCREW US WITH THIS BILL
Please – do not post in all caps. You are 100% correct about the retirees. We should be grandfathered in and no law or bill should be able to change that. I also fit into your equation. My wife took early retirement at 62. She lost her insurance at her former employer – but she is covered under my FEP B/C. If I am forced into medicare I would have to pay for medicare and my FEP B/C in order to keep insurance for my wife…nothing can make that fair. Rick Owens – PEN