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House Panel Schedules Postal Service Reform Bill Markup; Art Sackler Quoted

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The House Oversight and Reform Committee is set on Thursday to introduce reforms to the U.S. Postal Service, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House panel, and ranking member James Comer, R.-Ky., unveiled the final version of the 2021 Postal Service Reform Act on Tuesday.

Maloney initially introduced the bill in Feb 2021 and had Postmaster General Louis DeJoy comment on some of the measure’s key provisions.

The proposed legislation would require USPS to establish an online public dashboard to monitor service performance, direct postal employees to enroll in Medicare once they reach the age of 65, and remove a 2006 mandate that requires the agency to fund retiree health benefits. 

The bill would also require the inclusion of a trackable barcode and other features in all mail-in ballots to help facilitate sorting and tracking operations.

During a House committee hearing in February, DeJoy said the legislative measure would generate $58 billion in savings for USPS over the next decade as projected in a 10-year reform plan he released in March.

The Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service supports the measure but wants Congress to protect against excessive mail rate increases.

“By raising prices dramatically on mail and institutionalizing service downgrades, the new 10-year plan — if left unchecked — will hurt large and small businesses, nonprofits, charities, and consumers, as well as the future of the Postal Service,” Art Sackler, the coalition's executive director, said in a statement.