APWU: Reps. Cummings, Lynch Are Latest to Request Moratorium on USPS Service Cuts

Web News Article #: 206-2014 11/12/2014 – Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) are the latest in a long list of members of Congress calling for a moratorium on reductions in postal service standards and the closure of mail processing plants. The congressmen urged leaders of the House Appropriators Committee to…

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Hopes dimming for postal service reform

The Hill - Opinion

(September 27, 2014) The U.S. Postal Service is besieged by financial losses, and the cavalry doesn’t appear to be coming. After years of debate, Congress remains stalled on legislation to prop up an agency weighed down by heavy employee costs and still struggling to remake itself in the Internet era. Two years ago, lawmakers worked…

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Another fight in Congress looms over Saturday mail delivery

The Hill - Opinion

(July 6, 2014) Congressional efforts to revamp the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service have run into a longtime roadblock – Saturday mail delivery. Top Republicans like House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and the Postal Service’s own executives say rolling back six-day letter delivery is crucial to the agency’s fiscal health – saving an average of…

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Is Postal Reform Becoming One Big Cluster…Box?

Here’s how crazy the pursuit of postal reform has gotten in recent months. First, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), frequent critic of the Obama Administration, sent a letter to ranking minority member Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) urging him and his fellow Democrats to join Republican members in a bipartisan revision of his postal reform bill that…

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Issa Ready to Compromise on Postal Bill; Awaits Dems’ Response

The author of the House postal reform bill seeks a compromise by adding Obama Administration proposals, but fears interest groups are sabotaging the effort. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) postponed a meeting of his Committee on Oversight and Government Reform yesterday because he failed to hear from Democratic members on their willingness to fashion a compromise…

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House Democrats Won’t Get on Board With Republican, White House-Backed Postal Bill

Postal reform hit yet another snag on Wednesday after a scheduled House committee vote on a new piece of legislation was postponed due to a lack of bipartisan support. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, announced the delay just hours before a markup of his new bill overhauling…

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Postal Service, lawmakers clash over improving finances

The Postal Service’s improving financial situation is fueling a debate between the agency, lawmakers and unions over what kind of legislation is needed to save the struggling agency. At stake are billions of dollars, tens of thousands of jobs and the future of the agency. The debate centers on which income best represents the Postal…

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Veterans, Savings, a Contentious Hearing

May 1, 2014 – (This article appears in the May-June 2014 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.) John L. Marcotte, Legislative & Political Department Director It’s rarely quiet in the legislative arena, and as past President Moe Biller was fond of saying, “The struggle continues.” Senate bill 1950, which would have repealed a cut…

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