Bill could mean ‘end to postal service as we know it’

Imagine a world where the birthday card from your grandmother – the one with a perfectly crisp five dollar bill that you’ve received every year without fail – no longer comes to your mailbox.

The National Association of Letter Carriers has expressed concern over a bill in Congress that could “devastate the U.S. Mail Service as we know it.”

Several dozen letter carriers rallied against Senate Bill 1789, also known as the 21st Century Postal Service Act, outside of the federal building in Seattle Thursday. Opponents of the bill say it would result in long term damage to the nation’s mail service and negatively affect millions of Washingtonians.

“This is a deeply flawed bill that, among other things, will eliminate door to door delivery,” said Bob James, President of the Washington State Association of Letter Carriers. “This is a vital service that both businesses and the public will miss if it is taken away.”

The bill would also put an end to Saturday delivery and complicate ballot delivery in states like Washington.

Washington Congressman Jim McDermott and Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich also joined Thursday’s rally to express opposition to the bill, which will head to the Senate floor next week.

The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., who say the postal service must either adapt or die.

“Despite the use of new communication technologies, a collapse of the Postal Service would devastate our economy,” the senators wrote in a December 2011 Op-Ed for Politico. “The situation is dire but not hopeless. With the right tools and action from Congress and the Obama administration, the Postal Service can reform, right-size and modernize.”

Supporters say the bipartisan, comprehensive reform bill will reduce operating costs, increase revenue and modernize the more than 200-year-old service which is on the verge of collapse.

The bill would return nearly $11 billion from the federal government to the U.S. Postal Service, which is the amount that has been overpaid in pension obligations. It would also encourage the early retirement of roughly 100,000 postal workers, which would save the Postal Service an estimated $8 billion a year.

Other changes would include cuts to retail sites, processing plants, and administrative positions.

“We are not crying “wolf.” If nothing is done, the Postal Service will not be able to make payroll next summer – stopping mail delivery in its tracks and wreaking havoc on our already fragile economy.”