Congress passed legislation that would shore up the U.S. Postal Service and ensure six-day-a-week mail delivery, sending the bill to President Joe Biden to sign into law.
Thehas been years in the making and comes amid widespread complaints about mail service slowdowns. Many Americans became dependent on the Postal Service during the COVID-19 crisis, but officials have repeatedly warned that without congressional action it would run out of cash by 2024.
The Postal Service Reform Act would lift unusual budget requirements that have contributed to the Postal Service's red ink and would set in law the requirement that the mail is delivered six days a week, except in the case of federal holidays, natural disasters and a few other situations. The bill would end a requirement that the Postal Service finance workers' health care benefits ahead of time for the next 75 years, an obligation that private companies and federal agencies do not face.Instead, the Postal Service would require future retirees to enroll in Medicare and would pay current retirees’ actual health care costs that aren’t covered by the federal health insurance program for older people.
Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., reminded his colleagues of the origins of the nation's postal service as a way to unify the young country, and of its importance today to deliver cards, letters and a growing list of goods to American households.