Source: United States Senator for Wyoming John Barrasso
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, both R-Wyo., released the following statements after voting to support bipartisan postal reform legislation. The Senate passed the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 on Tuesday by a vote of 79 to 19.
“In Wyoming, our rural communities depend on the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to keep our communities running strong,” Senator Barrasso said. “While this reform bill is far from perfect, it gives USPS the resources it needs to keep our post offices open and operating at full speed. Most importantly, this bill requires the Postal Service to maintain its standard of six-day delivery. This is critical for seniors and people all across Wyoming who rely on Saturday delivery for medications and other vital packages.”
“People across Wyoming, especially our most rural residents, rely on the postal service for everyday necessities, and I’m confident that this bill will address some of the challenges they have been facing, particularly in terms of reliability and speed of service,” Senator Lummis said. “This package is far from perfect, and unfortunately, Senate Democrat leadership did not allow for amendments to fix the most egregious parts of the bill, but it is not only the best opportunity we have to vote on some of these postal reforms, it is the only opportunity. We have to choose between two options: the current system that requires bailouts, or a system that will give USPS the chance to improve their own fiscal solvency.”
Key Provisions Included in H.R. 3076 – Postal Service Reform Act of 2022:
6-Day Delivery
The bill requires the U.S. Postal Service to maintain its standard of delivering at least six days a week. Six-day delivery will provide protections for our seniors, veterans, and patients by ensuring the delivery of prescription medicine and other time-sensitive packages.
Elimination of Retiree Healthcare Prefunding Mandate
The bill eliminates the onerous pre-funding requirement that has plagued the Postal Service financially. This reform would create savings for the Postal Service over the next ten years.
Non-Postal Services
The bill allows agreements between USPS and state, local and tribal governments to offer non-postal services such as issuing fishing and hunting licenses.
Rural Newspaper Sustainability
This bill allows rural newspapers to increase the amount of newspaper publications mailed “within-county” to non-subscribers at the same rate as for subscribers.
Integrating Parcels and Packages
The bill increases efficiency in the Postal Service by requiring an integrated network of delivery for parcels and packages.
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