Source: United States Senator for Pennsylvania Pat Toomey
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) released the following statement opposing the postal service reform bill:
“This postal service reform bill overpromised and under-delivered. The Postal Service is intended to operate as a self-financing, independent entity. However, this legislation requires taxpayers to foot the bill for retiree health benefits that the Postal Service promised to employees in retirement by shifting billions of dollars’ worth of their retiree health liabilities onto Medicare Part B and Part D. With insolvency of the Medicare trust fund looming and trillions in unfunded liabilities, Congress should be working to make this important program sustainable instead of undermining it further.
“For the last 15 years, the Postal Service has run a net financial loss and amassed $188 billion of unfunded liabilities, largely related to retiree benefits. Given the critical service USPS provides, it is imperative that any reform legislation update its outdated business model, stop the annual financial hemorrhaging, and create a long-term solution to rein in excessive operating expenses. Today’s bill, however, falls short of even these modest goals.”