e-Team Report, July 14, 2012

Postal Reform Delayed  

The House of Representatives will not be considering any postal reform legislation before they leave town on their month-long August recess.  This means that for the time being, Rep. Darrell Issa’s ‘postal destruction’ bill, H.R. 2309, will not be coming up for a vote.  The move also greatly reduces the likelihood that the House takes up any real postal reform, legislation that addresses the root causes of the Postal Service’s financial woes, before Postal Service’s fiscal year ends in September. 

USPS Likely to Default on Pre-payment

The Postal Service is due to prepay another $5.5 billion to the U.S. Treasury for future health care benefits by August 1 st.  The cash-strapped Postal Service is expected to default on the pre-payment, however, given its recent financial straights, due primarily to these very same pre-payments.  The House’s continuing decision to not provide meaningful relief from the pre-payments has not helped matters any.  As an article in the Federal Times notes, “While a Senate-passed bill would significantly reduce the amount of the payment, the House has not acted on that legislation.”