Committee Passes Controversial Issa Bill

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members passed the latest postal bill offered by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA), which would end “door delivery” for 15 million postal customers. The vote, which passed along party lines 18-13, occurred less than 48 hours after it was introduced.

“There is no justification for the dramatic cuts in service proposed in this legislation,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “The solution to the manufactured USPS financial crisis is for Congress to eliminate the unreasonable financial mandate it imposed on the Postal Service in 2006 and which sent the agency into a tailspin.

“Privatizers in Congress are using the crisis they created to justify dismantling a national treasure,” Dimondstein said.  “They must be stopped.”

The proposal to end door delivery is just the latest in a series of measures Rep. Issa has submitted that would severely curtail service. His other proposals would eliminate Saturday delivery, shutter post offices, contract out retail services, and close mail processing plants, the union president noted. Consideration of a more sweeping Issa bill just two weeks ago was postponed after he failed to win support for it in the committee.

“Rep. Issa has not been able to garner support for his extreme and anti-worker postal bill, H.R. 2748 or other postal bills," said APWU Legislative and Political Director John Marcotte. “Now, Issa is at it again!”

“Today’s bill represents a new strategy,” Dimondstein said. “Issa has now decided to eat the USPS one bite at a time.”

Postal unions are united in opposition to the bill. “We stand in solidarity against any efforts to privatize the Postal Service, diminish service to our customers, or weaken workers’ rights,” Dimondstein said.