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About H.R. 22
Pre-Funding Retiree Healthcare Benefits
(Excerpted from "Legislative Priorities for the APWU")
(March 2009) The USPS is confronting a financial crisis so severe that it threatens the viability of the 235 year old postal system, an American treasure that has helped "bind the nation together" and remains a vital part of our economy.
The main cause of the Postal Service’s difficulty is the nation’s economic collapse, but the problem is exacerbated by a provision of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA) that requires the USPS to pre-fund its retiree healthcare benefits. No other federal agency is forced to operate with this budgetary constraint.
The APWU supports efforts to reverse this onerous and unwarranted burden on the USPS.
On Jan. 6, 2009, the first day of the 111th Congress, Rep. John McHugh (R-NY) and Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL) introduced a bill (H.R. 22) that would change how these premiums are paid: Instead of payments made directly from the operating budget of the USPS, the costs of current retirees would be paid from the Retiree Health Benefits Fund. The annual pre-funding payments of more than $7 billion required by the PAEA would continue, and there would be no impact on the benefits of retirees. This change would give the USPS some flexibility in controlling costs during a period of declining volume and economic instability.
H.R. 22 is not a bailout. It would not require any expenditure of taxpayer monies, yet it would provide relief to USPS of more than $2 billion/year, substantially narrowing the deficit facing it.
This legislation would provide substantial short-term relief to the Postal Service.
H.R. 22 is supported by the postal unions, management associations, the mailing industry, and the USPS. The APWU encourages members to contact their legislators and urge them to support this important legislation.
[Click here to view a PowerPoint presentation on the importance of passing H.R. 22.]
