'Signed. Sealed. Delivered.'
JESSICA CORBETT for Common Dreams
A
day after overcoming a
filibuster, the Postal Service
Reform Act passed the evenly split Senate in a 79-19 vote,
with several Republicans joining Democrats to send the bill to President Joe
Biden's desk.
"Every
day tens of millions of Americans rely on the post office for their daily
essentials—seniors and veterans, small business owners, small-town rural
Americans, people waiting for wedding invitations, birthday cards, letters—so
we know that the Postal Service is really beloved," said Senate Majority
Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) at a press conference after the vote.
The U.S.
Postal Service is "an important institution in American life" and was
long in need of a revamp, he added, calling the bill's passage a win for
bipartisanship, postal workers, and the public.
"Every day the Postal Service faithfully delivers for the American people and today the Senate is finally delivering for the post office," declared Schumer, flanked by Democratic and Republican colleagues.
National
Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) president Fredric Rolando said in
a statement that "this is a monumental victory for letter carriers and all
Americans who depend on the Postal Service for affordable and high-quality
universal service."
"I
want to congratulate and thank all the NALC members who lobbied their members
of Congress to win passage in the Senate and the House," he added.
"Thanks to your support, dedication, and action, bipartisan postal reform,
that was 12 years in the making, has finally passed in both chambers."
The $107 billion compromise
package, which the House advanced with a 342-92 vote in February, will make
future Postal Service retirees enroll in Medicare—ending a costly mandate
forcing the USPS to prefund health
benefits—and require the creation of a new online mail tracking system.
"This
long-overdue legislation will strengthen the Postal Service so it can better
serve the American people," tweeted Sen.
Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).
The
bill was even supported by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, an appointee of
former President Donald Trump who has faced multiple
scandals.
The
Senate vote comes as DeJoy is under fire for
a USPS plan to buy gas-powered delivery trucks in spite of President Joe
Biden's proposed transition to zero-emission government vehicles.
"DeJoy's
environmental review is rickety, founded on suspect calculations, and fails to
meet the standards of the law," said Earthjustice senior attorney Adrian
Martinez last month. "We're not done fighting this reckless
decision."
