WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, a member of the Senate committee that oversees the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), joined a bipartisan group of her colleagues in introducing legislation to overhaul the Postal Service and improve the agency’s long-term financial stability. The bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act would eliminate requirements that have decimated the Postal Services’ finances, increase transparency and accountability at the agency, and strengthen support for postal workers.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of the Postal Service for Granite State communities, and we must ensure that the agency can continue to provide critical mail delivery to households and small businesses well into the future,” Senator Hassan said. “This bipartisan legislation eliminates burdensome requirements that make it more difficult for the Postal Service to provide the services that so many Granite Staters rely on. I am pleased to join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in introducing this commonsense legislation.”

The Postal Service Reform Act would eliminate the aggressive prefunding requirement that has hurt the Postal Service financially, and integrate postal worker retirees’ health care with Medicare. Together, these two reforms would create $45.9 billion in savings for the Postal Service over the next ten years. In addition, the bill would require the Postal Service to maintain its standard of delivering at least six days a week.

The legislation would also improve transparency of Postal Service operations to both customers and Congress by requiring the publication of easily accessible weekly service data on the Postal Service website, as well as issuing a detailed report to Congress every six months on Postal Service finances and operations.

Hassan is working to improve the Postal Service, which is especially vital for rural communities in New Hampshire. Last year, Senator Hassan led negotiations to include $10 billion for USPS in the COVID-19 relief and government funding package that was signed into law in December to help the agency address pandemic-related mail delays. Following a request from Senator Hassan, the Postal Service Inspector General issued a report that found that the main cause of postal delays and poor service in New Hampshire was due to a lack of permanent staff. Since the report came out in December 2020, the Postal Service has hired more than 150 new permanent employees in New Hampshire.

Newsletter