USPS Fairness Act (H.R. 2382)
On February 5, the House of Representative passed H.R. 2382, USPS Fairness Act. This bill repeals the requirement that the United States Postal Service prepay future retirement health benefits. The mandate, established under the Postal Accountability Enhancement Act (PAEA) in 2006, requires the Postal Service, which receives no taxpayer subsidies, to prefund its retirees’ health benefits up to the year 2056. This is a $5 billion per year cost and is a requirement that no other entity, private or public, has to make.
USPS has reported consistent losses in recent years, most recently a net loss of $8.8 billion for fiscal year 2019. Much of those losses can be attributed to the defaulting on prefunding payments. The USPS has not made a payment into this fund since 2012.
The bill will face an uphill battle in the Senate. If this legislation passes the Senate and is signed by the President, it would finally end retirement prefunding obligations for the Postal Service.
A full copy of the bill can be found here.
About Freedom
Freedom is one of the largest privately held direct mail companies in the United States with five manufacturing facilities strategically located throughout North America. Specializing in the production of loyalty & acquisition direct mail programs, Freedom offers “inline” & “offline” traditional and 4-color fully-variable digital printing, in-house lettershop, extensive laser & inkjet personalization capabilities, mailing services, in-house commingling, logistics, and multi-channel marketing solutions supported by a proprietary client interface & campaign management technology platform.