{"id":2857,"date":"2011-09-20T15:29:29","date_gmt":"2011-09-20T20:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/?p=2857"},"modified":"2011-09-20T15:29:29","modified_gmt":"2011-09-20T20:29:29","slug":"nalc-vows-to-oppose-5-day-delivery-in-obama-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/2011\/09\/20\/nalc-vows-to-oppose-5-day-delivery-in-obama-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"NALC vows to oppose 5-day delivery in Obama plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Statement from NALC President Fred Rolando on President Obama\u2019s deficit plan<\/p>\n

Not a Done Deal:
\nNALC vows to oppose 5-day delivery in Obama plan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Return of FERS surplus, other short-term relief a good start\u2014but not enough<\/em><\/p>\n

Monday, Sept. 19 — President Obama sent a deficit-reduction package Sept. 19 to the special joint committee of Congress established by the debt limit law to find ways to reduce the federal budget deficit. The package included a number of reforms to address the financial crisis at USPS.<\/p>\n

We are both encouraged and disappointed.<\/p>\n

We are encouraged that President Obama is attempting to creatively address the USPS cash crisis through the deficit reduction process and welcome his proposal to return the $6.9 billion postal pension surplus in FERS to the Postal Service as proposed in Rep. Stephen Lynch\u2019s H.R. 1351.<\/p>\n

But we are very disappointed that the administration opted for a deferral of the next two pre-funding payments ($5.5 billion each) instead of embracing a permanent reform based on the Lynch bill\u2019s recovery of the even larger CSRS surplus. And we deeply regret that the administration has given in to pressure from the postmaster general and has proposed to eliminate Saturday mail delivery.<\/p>\n

The NALC is carefully examining the various elements of the White House plan. It is important to remember that these are just proposals; they cannot become law unless Congress adopts them. We want to assure our members and all those who are interested in preserving the U.S. Postal Service that we will work with everyone involved, including members of the joint congressional committee, to build a strong Postal Service that will continue to provide exceptional service to the public six days a week.<\/p>\n

PEN Editor – also see e-Activist message from NALC below:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Supporter,<\/p>\n

Chairman Darrell Issa of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee has called a subcommittee mark-up of his bill, H.R. 2309, for Wednesday, September 21, at 1:30 p.m. I am writing to ask that you call your member of Congress on the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy (contact information below). Ask him or her to SHOW UP at the mark-up to fight for the survival of the U.S. Postal Service and its customers and employees, and urge him or her to vote NO on the adoption of H.R. 2309, a radical proposal that does nothing to address the immediate financial concerns of the Postal Service. Instead, it seeks to dismantle the USPS, piece by piece.<\/p>\n

Drastically downsizing the Postal Service is not the answer, especially when the real cost will be passed on to postal customers throughout the country. H.R. 2309<\/a> has only one co-sponsor, while H.R. 1351<\/a>, a bill with 206 co-sponsors from both parties, goes right to the heart of the problem and offers real solutions for the Postal Service’s financial future without the use of taxpayer money.<\/p>\n

H.R. 2309 fails to address the real cause of the postal financial crisis: a congressional mandate that requires the Postal Service to pre-fund future retiree health benefits at a grossly accelerated rate of $5.5 billion a year. No other agency or company faces such a burden. The bill also fails to return tens of billions of dollars in overpayments to the Postal Service’s portion of the CSRS Pension Fund. Instead, Chairman Issa is asking for:<\/p>\n