Government affairs

On Tuesday, the House passed H.R. 813, designating the postal facility located at 1050 Sunset Road Southwest in Albuquerque, NM, as the “Jose Hernandez Post Office Building.”

House Resolution 109 (H. Res. 109), which calls on Congress to “take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of door delivery for all businesses and residential customers,” has been reintroduced in the 117th Congress.

Today, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) introduced House Resolution 108 (H.Res. 108), which calls on Congress to recognize Postal Service employees as front-line essential workers who must be prioritized for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

Every Congress, the House and Senate organize their structure, rules, and committee assignments. While there are numerous Committees, the House Oversight and Reform Committee (COR) and Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC) are the primary Committees with jurisdiction over federal employees and the Postal Service.

This week, the USPS Fairness Act was reintroduced in the House (H.R. 695) and Senate (S. 145). Both bills would repeal the mandate that the Postal Service “pre-fund” decades’ worth of health benefits for its future retirees, enacted through the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) of 2006.

Today, Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL) reintroduced their resolution calling on the House to take “all appropriate measures to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Federal Government and is not subject to privatization.”

Reps. David McKinley (R-WV) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) have reintroduced House Resolution 119 (H. Res. 119), expressing the sense of Congress that the Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to restore the service standards that were in effect as of July 1, 2012.

Reps. Sam Graves (R-MO) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) have reintroduced their resolution to preserve six-day mail delivery, House Resolution 114 (H. Res. 114).

Two Senate seats previously held by Republicans Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and David Perdue (R-GA) will change hands in the 117^th Congress. 

Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) have reintroduced the Social Security Fairness Act of 2021 (H.R. 82), which would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) titles of the Social Security Act.

Today, the House of Representatives and Senate convened the 117th Congress in-person, following months of operating remotely and voting by proxy due to COVID-19.

Following months of failed negotiations between leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives and the White House, a fourth COVID-19 relief package was signed into law today as a part of the FY 2021 government spending.

On behalf of the National Association of Letter Carriers, which represents 285,000 active and retired letter carriers around the country, we congratulate President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their victory today.

With nearly 100 million voters having already cast their ballots, turnout – whether by mail or in-person – is expected to be record-setting but there is more work to do to Get Out The Vote. 

This week, the House advanced an additional relief package (H.R. 925) to break the gridlock over ongoing negotiations with the White House and Senate over another round of COVID-19-relief.

Following a complete breakdown in negotiations between the House, Senate and White House over the next relief package, a group of 50 bipartisan House members known as the Problem Solvers Caucus announced a $1.5 trillion framework in the hopes of drawing leadership back to the table to compromise.

Today, Sens. Sanders (I-VT) and Gillibrand (D-NY) joined forces to introduce a bill (S.4614) to require the Postal Service to expand its banking services to meet the needs of unbanked or underbanked communities nationwide.

Today, the Senate once again failed to advance a relief package, demonstrating the lack of ability to provide additional COVID-19 relief to the American people.

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC) and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform (COR) conducted back-to-back hearings Friday and Monday to question Postmaster General Louis DeJoy following several weeks of reported mail service delays.

Today, members of the House of Representatives made their way back to Washington on a Saturday during August recess, during a pandemic, to pass the Delivering for America Act (H.R. 8015). 

In response to mounting pressure from the House to negotiate over additional COVID-19 relief, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced the Delivering Immediate Relief to America’s Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act

Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), released the following statement regarding the NALC Executive Council’s endorsement of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for president and vice president of the United States.

NALC has created a new fact sheet on The 2020 General Election: America Can Count on the U.S. Postal Service. 

Today, the House of Representatives passed the Defense, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2021 H.R. 7617 (116),  which provides funding to the majority of the federal government through September 30.

Two and a half months after the House of Representatives passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions, or “HEROES” Act (H.R. 6800), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell this week finally announced an outline of the Senate GOP’s response, a $1 trillion relief package called the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools Act (HEALS Act).

This week, the House and Senate return to Washington this week for a three-week work period where their main agenda item will be negotiating what could be the last Covid-relief package before election day.

Today, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced the “Postal Service Emergency Assistance Act” (S. 4174) to provide funding to the Postal Service to help offset Covid-related financial losses.

Today, the House passed “Moving Forward Act” (H.R. 2), a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that invests in roads, rail, public transit, ports, aviation, energy and water.

Senate Democratic caucus introduced a resolution calling on Congress to appropriate funds to cover lost revenues due to Covid-19

Rep. James Comer was selected to become Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform

The House and Senate were in session most of the week working on a wide range of issues. 

House of Representatives passed the ”George Floyd Justice in Policing Act"

Today, House Democrats unveiled the “Moving Forward Act” (H.R. 2), a $1.5 trillion, far-reaching infrastructure bill authorizing funding and resources for the nation’s infrastructure. 

Both chambers of Congress worked on a wide-range of issues

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) flatly rejected any consideration of “HEROES” Act 

Senate unanimously approved the nominations of Lee Moak and William Zollars 

As they have across the country, protests continued in Washington DC this week in response to the death of George Floyd and the lack of action from the federal government in addressing existing institutional racism through long-overdue reforms. 

Starting July 27, a new rule from the Department of Labor (DOL) will allow retirement plan administrators to use email, texts, and websites as a default means to provide participants and beneficiaries the required documents about their retirement plans.

Both the House and Senate were in session this week, though the House maintains its new rule for voting by proxy in order to keep the far larger chamber from gathering in person unnecessarily and to maintain social distancing as the number of cases of Coronavirus continue to rise across the country. 

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs advanced several nominations 

Rep. Karen Bass and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), along with 164 House colleagues and 33 Senate colleagues, introduced the “Justice in Policing Act of 2020

Today, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs’ Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management held a hearing to consider the nomination of Captain Lee Moak and William Zollars to be members of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors (BOG) in addition to three nominees to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Vote Safe Act of 2020 was introduced

While the Senate is on a 10-day recess, the House was in session this week

The House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act

The Postal Preservation Act has been introduced

Following House passage of the HEROES Act, negotiations amongst Congressional leadership and the Administration are ongoing.

House passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act

Both chambers were back in Washington DC, but with nearly all attention on the House following the introduction and eventual passage of the fourth major response package to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The House of Representatives approved House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern’s (D-MA) H. Res. 965, which would allow for remote voting by proxy in the House and for official remote committee proceedings during a public health emergency.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey introduced the  “HEROES” Act

The USPS Board of Governors announced the selection of Louis DeJoy to serve as the next Postmaster General 

26 GOP lawmakers sent a letter to the Treasury Secretary, Senate Majority Leader, and House GOP Leader 

NALC and other postal unions sent a letter to the USPS Board of Governors 

Today, North Star Opinion Research and Hart Research Associates, two leading Republican and Democratic public opinion firms, released the findings of a national poll.

Congress was busy working-on and passing an interim legislative package meant to replenish funding already approved in the previous emergency stimulus bill this week and today it was signed into law.

After Senate passage on Tuesday, and House passage on Thursday, the President signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (H.R. 266) into law today.

Following the passage of the CARES Act last month, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced on April 2 the creation of a Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis within the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

Following Senate passage on Tuesday, the House of Representatives cleared the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (H.R. 266) today to be signed into law by the President.

Both House and Senate leadership announced this week that they will not reconvene in Washington DC sooner than May 4, two weeks later than the previously scheduled date.

Today, a group of 122 Representatives led by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO) sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) urging financial support for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in the next Covid-19 legislative response package.

Today, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) introduced the VoteSafe Act of 2020 to provide $5 billion in grants for states to improve the safety of in-person voting and expand both early voting and vote-by-mail during the COVID-19 pandemic, among other provisions.

Throughout the legislative response to the Covid-19 virus, NALC has sought to support the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) through talks and engagement with Congressional leadership.

On March 31, Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) introduced the “Protect Our Post Offices Act” (H.R. 6425), which would provide $25 billion in emergency funding to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from the U.S. Treasury.

At a time when the heroic workers of the US Postal Service are braving infection to serve the country during an unprecedented national crisis, it is imperative that representatives at all levels of the federal government have a fundamental understanding of the value of the postal service, the cause of and solutions to its current financial circumstances, and the dangers to the US economy and rural health in the event of a USPS insolvency.

NALC has created a white paper on the legislative needs of the Postal Service for the COVID-19 crisis.

Today, Senate Democrats put forward a proposal to provide additional pay premiums to ‘essential’ frontline workers, which includes letter carriers and other postal employees.

The Administration and Congress is entirely focused on a response to the coronavirus pandemic

Following Senate passage, the House cleared the bill via voice vote and the President signed it into law

Congress is moving toward the adoption of a third law this month designed to combat the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus known as Covid-19.

The two competing stimulus bills introduced and debated over the past week in Washington could not have been more different when it comes to aiding the Postal Service.

Nearly all the attention in Washington DC has been on a response to the growing crisis due to the spread of the Coronavirus.

The President signed the second emergency relief package for the Coronavirus

Today, Reps. Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Filemon Vela (D-TX), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced ‘‘Protecting Collective Bargaining and Official Time for Federal Workers Act’’ (H.R. 6246).

Having passed an emergency $8.3 billion funding package last week, today, House lawmakers introduced the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) would provide billions more in funding to combat the spread and impacts of the virus.

Sen. Wyden introduced the Resilient Elections During Quarantines and Natural Disasters Act of 2020

Lawmakers’ primary attention this week was on the coronavirus with a $8.3 billion emergency package prepared to address it. 

Today the White House announced the nomination of Captain Donald Lee Moak, of Florida, to be a Member of the USPS BOG for the remainder of a seven-year term expiring December 8, 2022.

The House of Representatives voted to expand worker protections for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers today, which would grant them the rights and protections other federal employees hold. 

Both the House and Senate were in session this week with the majority of legislative focus being paid to President Trump’s fiscal year 2021 budget request.

Lawmakers were in Washington DC this week and received the President Trump’s upcoming fiscal year 2021 budget request, which features many of the same cuts to pay and benefits for the federal workforce and the U.S. Postal Service. 

The Trump Administration released its $4.8 trillion Fiscal Year 2021 budget proposal on Feb. 10. 

This was a very significant week in Washington DC.

On February 6, the House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act (H.R. 2474), legislation that would increase protections for workers’ right to organize and bargain for higher wages, better benefits, safer working conditions, and more.

While the full roll call vote on the USPS Fairness Act (H.R. 2382) is available here, below you can find lists of the vote breakdown notable to NALC.

Today, the House of Representatives passed the USPS Fairness Act (H.R. 2382) in a 309 to 106 vote. 

While the Senate continued the impeachment trial this week, the President signed the USMCA into law, but most important to letter carriers, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced that the House of Representatives will vote on the USPS Fairness Act (H.R. 2382) in the coming days.

The USPS Fairness Act (H.R. 2382) is expected on the House floor next week and we need letter carriers to call their Representatives and ask for their vote in support.

Both House and Senate lawmakers were on Capitol Hill this week to major activity. 

The House returned to session this week following the winter break while the Senate swore in Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) to fill the seat of Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), who retired at the end of 2019.