(05/17/2014) Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution gives Congress the power “To establish Post Offices and post Roads.” This makes the US Post Office one of the few government agencies mentioned in the Constitution. In a time of “buffet-style pick and choose” allegiance to the Constitution, candidates would do well to think on this. Any candidate or legislator who isn’t 100% committed to the Post Office as a public institution should be sent packing.

I promise to fight for the US Post Office and to fight against any privatization of this world-renowned institution. First priority must be to roll back Denny Hastert’s poison pill that makes the Postal service pre-pay 7 years of pension obligations every single year. Over the course of 10 years this rule requires the Post Office to pay pensions on people who haven’t even been born yet. Hastert’s Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 should never have been passed.

The Postal Service is the lifeblood to rural Nebraska and the rural economy; we can’t put it at risk another day. As Senator I will immediately sponsor legislation to roll back the Hastert poison pill and end the potential loss of 120,000 good paying jobs across America.  With $5.5 million of unusual liability unburdened from the Post Office every year, we can see new innovations in service to rural and urban communities well into the future.

For Nebraska communities, rural postal service is a life and death issue. There will be no privatization of the Postal Service. There will be no farming out of postal services. We will keep 6-day delivery to our hard working rural communities. As your Senator I’ll fight to make sure of that.

via USPS – Going Down the Line | Dan Buhrdorf for US Senate.