Government affairs

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. The House continued its work on appropriations for the upcoming fiscal year while the Senate held hearings on various nominees.

Washington DC, like many cities across this country, saw large public protests in response to what happened in Minnesota (and also in Georgia and Kentucky) in May and a lack of action in addressing the existing institutional racism through long-overdue reforms. NALC President Fredric V. Rolando released a statement, which is viewable here.

NALC Activity

NALC continues to call attention to the need for relief for the duration of the crisis—to fully cover the difference between postage revenues and total USPS expenses during this crisis as well as a mechanism to reimburse the Postal Service for the cost of Covid-19-related leave.

To support our continued efforts, letter carriers should continue contacting their members of Congress to urge support for funding in the next stimulus package. Let Congress know that the Postal Service doesn’t need more debt and that we now have overwhelming voter support for funding. Click here to take action.

In addition, letter carriers should encourage their friends and families to visit the newly launched website www.HeroesDelivering.com, which provides information and resources to the general public on the importance of USPS and the need to keep it strong and well-funded during this pandemic. It gives readers an easy means to contact their legislators and call on them to support funding for the Postal Service in the next legislative package.

Congressional activity

On Wednesday, 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). During the hearing, senators questioned the nominees on a broad range of topics including: the current financial state of the agency and its long-term outlook, the role of the BOG in the USPS response to the COVID-19 pandemic, postal products and opportunities for innovation, maintaining service obligations and strong rural delivery, and the universal service obligation (USO), and the BOG’s duty to prioritize the health and safety of letter carriers and the broader postal workforce during this ongoing crisis, among others.

Throughout the hearing, Moak emphasized his commitment to working with stakeholders and in learning more about the agency, and Zollars was particularly interested in the financials though had less to say about engaging the workforce. Both nominees will be voted on next week before advancing to the full Senate. Read more here.

Also on Wednesday, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) held a virtual round table on COVID-19 titled, “Coronavirus and Homeland Security Part Twelve: USPS Delivering for America.” The round table was held as a discussion on the serious impact the pandemic has had on the agency and what is needed to keep it functioning through this crisis and what reforms will be needed once it is stabilized. The two guests included NALC Chief of Staff Jim Sauber and former Secretary of the Army and Rep. John McHugh (R-NY), now Chairman of the Package Coalition. NALC encourages letter carriers to watch the round table discussion as it provided excellent insight to the problems at hand and the solutions necessary to solve them. Read more here and you can view the roundtable here.

On Friday, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (H.R. 7010) was signed into, which was cleared by the Senate via voice vote on Wednesday and passed the week before in the House of Representatives. The law creates more flexibility on how and when to spend forgivable loans provided to American small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program. It is notable that the original bill, as drafted, would have removed the 75 percent payroll limitation entirely. This change in the bill was due in large part to the input of the broader Labor community, which requested the change be made. You can read more on it here.

2020 election activity

2020 primary dates have been changed and lots of in-person voting locations have closed due to the Covid-19 crisis. Many states are opting to expand absentee and vote-at-home measures so voters and poll workers may remain safe during this election season.

To find the most accurate and up to date information specific to your state elections, you can visit your state’s secretary of state webpage (ex: Ohio) and look for “elections” or if your state does not have a secretary of state, search for the office of elections (example: Hawaii). You can also visit the National Conference of State Legislatures webpage on state primary dates, which is tracking all date changes.

NALC Priority Bills/Resolutions

H.R. 2382/S. 2965 – USPS Fairness Act
Status: Passed House of Representatives, introduced in Senate by Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT)
Co-sponsors: 7 Senate (4 Democrats – 3 Republicans)
House vote: 309 Yea (222 Democrats – 87 Republicans) – 106 Nays (105 Republicans – 1 Independent)

To repeal the requirement that the United States Postal Service prepay future retirement benefits.

House Resolution 23 (H. Res. 23) – Door Delivery
Status: Introduced by Reps. Susan Davis (D-CA) and Peter King (R-NY)
Co-sponsors: 261 (207 Democrats – 54 Republicans)

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of door delivery for all business and residential customers.

House Resolution 33 (H. Res. 33) – Anti-privatization
Status: Introduced by Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL)
Co-sponsors: 267 (226 Democrats – 41 Republicans)

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should 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.

House Resolution 54 (H. Res. 54) – Six-day Delivery
Status: Introduced by Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Sam Graves (R-MO)
Co-sponsors: 293 (217 Democrats – 76 Republicans)

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of its six-day mail delivery service.

House Resolution 60 (H. Res. 60) – Service Standards
Status: Introduced by Rep. David McKinley (R-WV) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Co-sponsors: 206 (180 Democrats – 26 Republicans)

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to restore service standards in effect as of July 1, 2012.

Senate Resolution 99 (S. Res. 99) – Anti-privatization
Status: Introduced by Sens. Gary Peters and Jerry Moran (R-KS)
Co-sponsors: 54 (44 Democrats – 8 Republicans – 2 Independents)

Expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should 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 in whole or in part.

H.R. 2478 – Fed Retirement Fairness Act
Status: Introduced by Reps. Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Tom Cole (R-OK)
Co-sponsors: 58 (45 Democrats – 13 Republicans)

To provide certain federal employees the opportunity to make catch-up retirement contributions for time spent as temporary employees after Dec. 31, 1988, thus making such time creditable service under the Federal Employees Retirement System. Now applies to temporary postal employees, such as letter carriers who spent time as casuals, TEs, and CCAs.

H.R. 2474/S. 1306 – PRO Act
Status: Passed House of Representatives, introduced in Senate by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Co-sponsors: Senate 40 (39 Democrat, 1 Independent, 0 Republican)
House vote: 224 Yea (219 Democrats – 5 Republicans) – 194 Nays (186 Republicans – 1 Independent)

To increase protections for workers’ right to organize and bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer working conditions.