Postal Service Set To Default On Multi-Billion Dollar Retiree Payment
Openmarket.org
Today, the United States Postal Service (USPS) takes one step closer toward a taxpayer bailout. The blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the current do-nothing Congress. Instead of cutting bait (privatizing the USPS), Congress has decided to keep fishing to the dismay of most interested parties.
For months, it has been clear the postal service could not afford to pay its upcoming $5.5 and $5.6 billion payments for future retiree health benefits to the United States Treasury. Yet, Congress refuses to act. Even worse, the last bill to reform the USPS, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PPA), caused the current fiscal crisis.
Sally Davidow, the spokesperson for the American Postal Service Union, comments on the PPA financial implications, “Before Congress passed this, the postal service enjoyed a modest surplus, this pre-payment program is the fundamental cause of this crisis, and it needs to be repealed.”