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A p r i l 2 0 1 4 / Q U I C K P R I N T I N G 27 w w w. M y P R I N T R e s o u r c e . c o m Brings New Leadership in to Manage the Postal Service During Restructur- ing. Replaces the current part-time Board of Governors with a temporary panel of five full-time executives that have a clear mandate to turn around the agency and implement cost-cutting reforms. Once the Postal Service is able to earn a profit and has a path forward to ensure it can meet its obligations to its retirees, the temporary panel dissolves and the Board of Governors is reconstituted. Modernizes Mail Delivery. Standard- izes how mail is received around the nation by phasing out the expensive "to the door" delivery of mail, which only a quarter of addresses receive today, in favor of curbside and secure clusterbox delivery. Normalizes Rates. Phases out many special rates for certain customers that force the Postal Service to actually charge certain customers less than the true cost of delivery while preserving the ability of non-profits to fundraise and communi- cate in an economical manner. Ends Special Treatment for Political Parties. Immediately eliminates the abil- ity of the national and state political com- mittees to use the non-profit mail rate. Normalizes Pay & Benefits. Requires postal workers to pay the same premium contribution that other federal workers now pay for health and life insurance benefits and clarifies the existing com- pensation parity required to exist between postal and private sector workers. Enables Postal Service to Pursue New Revenue. Allows the USPS to sell advertising space on vehicles and facili- ties and offer state and local services, such as the sale of fishing licenses. Uses Surpluses in Pension Accounts to Help Address Other Employee Ben- efit Costs. Creates a permanent mecha- nism that ensures projected surpluses in the Postal Service's pension system do not go to fund operating losses at the Postal Service, but instead protect other benefits already earned by its employees. Subjects Postal Workers to Same Reduction in Force Regime as other Federal Workers. Currently, no-layoff The Case for Postal Reform, Part 2 PRIORITY MAIL An outline of potential reform programs for the USPS. By Nancy DeDiemar I n July 2013, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that the current business model does not allow the US Postal Service to adapt to changes in the marketplace and that it lacks the legal authority to make the changes necessary to achieve long-term fnancial stability. Urging Congress to pass postal reform, Donahoe de- clared the need for savings of $20 billion by 2016 and presented components of the USPS Five-Year Plan to accomplish this: • Provide the USPS authority to control health care and retirement costs, elimi- nating prefunding mandated in 2006 • Establish a defined contribution (rath- er than defined benefit) retirement sys- tem for new employees • Change the delivery schedule to six days for packages and five days for mail • Develop a more streamlined and flex- ible governance model that allows the USPS to develop, price and implement products quickly • Refund $6 billion dollars in overpay- ments to the Federal Employees Retire- ment System (FERS) • Require arbitrators to consider the financial condition of the USPS • Reform workers' compensation Both the House and Senate introduced postal reform legislation in 2013. The House version, The Postal Reform Act of 2013 (H.R. 2748) focused on cutting operating costs by reducing services (end- ing Saturday delivery of mail, ending door delivery), facilities (closing under-used post offices and mail processing facili- ties), and workers. The Senate version (S. 1486) restructured the retirement prefunding requirement. Here are the highlights of H.R. 2748 as originally introduced in July 2013, taken from House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform website (oversight. house.gov/postalreformact): Prevents Taxpayer Bailouts. If USPS cannot pay its bills, the American tax- payer will almost certainly be asked to pick up the tab. This plan will give the Postal Service new tools to cut costs and restructure its finances, while ensuring it has the capital necessary to do so. Allows the Postal Service to Shift to a Modified-Saturday Delivery Sched- ule. Allows the Postal Service to main- tain Saturday delivery of packages and medicine while phasing out the Saturday delivery of mail such as bills and adver- tisements. According to Ipsos, this change is supported by 80 percent of the Ameri- can people. Offers an Affordable Payment Plan for Retiree Health Care Benefits. Allows the Postal Service to forgo past due payments owed to prefund retiree health care benefits, and eliminates the fiscal year 2013 and fiscal year 2014 payments. Beginning 2015, all future payments will be based strictly on an actuarial calcula- tion designed to achieve full funding in 2056. QP_27-28_0414 PriorityMail.indd 27 3/18/14 3:59 PM