| April 2, 2022 -- The National Grange has long supported reforms for the United States Postal service. Partially due to financial issues there has been a danger of services being cut from 6 days to 5 days a week. They are also struggling with outdated equipment and buildings.
In February the House passed a reform bill that included easements in some of the financial burdens that were placed with the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. The Senate passed their version in early March. The chief feature of the act is to wipe away $57 billion in defaulted debt. The Postal Accountability Act had required the Postal Service to advance fund the employee retirement funds.
National Grange Legislative Director, Burton Eller, highlighted some of the conditions of the Act in the February View From The Hill. He stated; The Act does the following:
- Eliminates the requirement to prefund retiree health benefits
- Requires six-day integrated mail and package delivery
- Expands special rates for local newspaper distribution
- Requires regular Congressional reporting on operations and financial performance
- Other important provisions. In early March the National Grange President, Betsy Huber, and Legislative Director, Burton Eller, met with Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, to discuss his vision for the postal service. During their meeting DeJoy outlined his ten- year plan which included “over $40 billion in capital investments over the next ten years to modernize the Postal Service, adapt to customers’ changing needs, and achieve the universal service mission.” The Grange has long been concerned on how cuts in postal services will affect our rural communities. The National Grange will continue to work with Postmaster DeJoy.
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