Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe told a Senate committee this week that the Postal Service’s financial problems require Congressional intervention to change the organization’s business model.
Testifying before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Donahoe said the Postal Service will continue to take aggressive steps to increase revenue and reduce operating expenses but needs legislative changes from Congress to help return the Postal Service to long-term financial stability.
Specifically, the Postal Service is seeking legislative provisions that would:
- Require the Postal Service to sponsor its own health care plan
- Reform the USPS business model to remove restrictions that prevent the Postal Service from responding to the demands of the marketplace, and to enable it to compete much more effectively in a dynamic business environment
- Transition the Postal Service to a new workforce based on a redefined “employee of the future.” This would include a personal retirement contribution plan for employees joining the Postal Service after 2015 – versus a defined benefit plan
- Provide a proper calculation of its Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS) surplus based upon data specific to the postal workforce, and then allow those funds to reduce the debt of the Postal Service
- Avoid restrictions on the announced move to a six-day package, five-day mail delivery schedule.
