Postal Service Reform Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Kentucky who has done a masterful job, along with Chairwoman Maloney, on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act.

The Postal Service is projected to lose $160 billion over the next 10 years as mail volume decreases and costs continue to increase. If nothing changes, the Postal Service will run out of cash in 2024 and plead for another taxpayer bailout.

This bill, coupled with Postmaster General DeJoy's 10-year reform plan, will return the Postal Service to a more sustainable path. It provides additional transparency mechanisms to help hold the Postal Service accountable for meeting its goals and ultimately lead its management to operate more efficiently.

It also allows the Postal Service to choose the most economic reform of transportation, rather than using outdated rules that are not tailored to the modern needs of the Postal Service.

The Postal Service Reform Act allows the Postmaster General to make two financial reforms that are key to the 10-year reform plan. It allows for Medicare integration and the elimination of the pre-funding obligations.

Last Congress, I requested a recorded vote on H.R. 2382, the USPS Fairness Act, and I voted ``no'' on that bill because I believe it is irresponsible for the Postal Service to shed its pre-funding obligations without making needed reforms so that taxpayers are not asked to repeatedly bail it out.

Now I am pleased to say the Postal Service Reform Act delivers those substantial and badly needed reforms to the Postal Service, such that its fiscal stability will be restored. Even the Congressional Budget Office notes that this bill would save taxpayers nearly $1.5 billion over the next 10 years. This keeps the Postal Service solvent, and eliminates the need for further postal bailouts.

Common ground is illusive in this body, Madam Speaker. I am proud to say that the bill before us today is truly a bipartisan step in the right direction to help the Postal Service fulfill its mission for years to come.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I would like to join my colleague, Mr. Comer, in thanking Representative Foxx for her unique contribution to this bill. She is co-chair of the Postal Caucus and played a vital role in moving this bill to the floor.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the distinguished chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that has jurisdiction over this bill also, and I thank him for his leadership on this bill.

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