Statement from NALC President Fred Rolando
on President Obama’s deficit plan

Not a Done Deal:
NALC vows to oppose 5-day delivery in Obama plan

Return of FERS surplus, other short-term relief
a good start—but not enough

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.

We are both encouraged and disappointed.

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’s H.R. 1351.

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’s recovery of the even larger CSRS surplus. And we deeply regret that the administration has given into pressure from the postmaster general and has proposed to eliminate Saturday mail delivery.

The NALC has carefully examined 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.

A full report on President Obama's proposals as they relate to federal and postal employees appears at right.