House Committee Approves Amendment To Restore Postal Service Standards

The House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment on June 17 to restore postal service standards, in a bipartisan vote of 26-23. Six Republicans joined all of the committee’s Democrats to endorse the measure, which was introduced by Rep. Chakah Fattah (D-PA).

The legislation would rescind the lower service standards the USPS implemented on Jan. 5 – which have wreaked havoc on mail delivery – and restore the standards that were in place on July 1, 2012. Following the vote on the amendment, the committee approved the 2016 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill by a vote of 30-20.

“This is an important step forward for postal workers and our customers – large and small,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “If enacted, it will mean that management must restore overnight mail delivery within cities and towns, and that the 2- and 3-day delivery standards that were wiped out in January must be restored.

“This is a vivid example of how the demands of postal workers reflect the people’s demand for good postal service.

“This is the first step in a long process, however,” Dimondstein said. The full House must approve the Financial Services Appropriations bill. The Senate also must approve a final appropriations bill.

Legislative and Political Director John L. Marcotte said, “I want to thank our locals, states, chapters and auxiliary for their hard work in reaching out and educating Congress about the importance of service standards. The APWU will do everything in our power to make this amendment law. With your help we can succeed.”

“We are very appreciative of the legislators who voted for the amendment and of the postal workers, customers, union officers and staff who encouraged them to ‘do the right thing,’ Dimondstein said.
“If enacted, it will greatly improve customer service and strengthen the USPS.” 

House Appropriations Amendment Vote Tally

Aye
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA)
Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA)
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)
Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA)
Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)
Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-WV)
Rep. David Jolly (R-FL)
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH)
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep. Nita Lowey  (D-NY)
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)
Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS)
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME)
Rep. David Price (D-NC)
Rep. Michael Quigley (D-IL)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD)
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH)
Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY)
Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-IN)
Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL)
Rep. David Young (R-IA)

No
Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL)
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)
Rep. John Carter (R-TX)
Rep. Thomas Cole (R-OK)
Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-FL)
Rep. John Culberson (R-TX)
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA)
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)
Rep. Charles Fleischmann (R-TN)
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ)
Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX)
Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA)
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD)
Rep. Jaime Herrera-Beutler (R-WA)
Rep. Scott Rigell (R-VA)
Rep. Matha Roby (R-AL)
Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY)
Rep. Thomas Rooney (R-FL)
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID)
Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT)
Rep. David Valadao (R-CA)
Rep. Stephen Womack (R-AR)
Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS)

Not Voting
Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV)
Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA)

To see video of the debate and vote, click here. Discussion of postal service standards begins at approximately 1:10 and ends at approximately 1:25.