NNA welcomes the support of KS, MO senators in preserving universal mail service
Dec 3, 2015
WASHINGTON—Legislation to provide the U.S. Postal Service with the ability to continue to restructure without diminishing mail service is critical in the 114th Congress, as a slow economy and electronic diversion change the mail. That is why the National Newspaper Association welcomed the support of Sens. Jerry Moran, R-KS; Roy Blunt, R-MO and Claire McCaskill, D-MO, as they signed onto S. 2051, the iPOST Act introduced this year by Sen. Tom Carper, D-DE.
The bill gives USPS financial relief without a taxpayer bailout by enabling postal retirees to tap into the already-funded Medicare benefits; offers mailers rate relief by freezing postage rates until 2018; requires USPS to measure on-time delivery of rural mail and protects rural communities from more closings of mail processing plants for two years while experts determine how to right-size USPS for the mail stream of the future.
NNA Government Relations Chair Andrew Johnson, publisher of the Dodge County Pionier in Mayville, WI, said he sees hopeful indications that Congress will finally pass a postal reform bill this year.
“We are witnessing that rarest of occurrences in Washington. Everyone is coming together to do something for the good of the nation, particularly rural America,” Johnson said. “NNA is working with a coalition of other mailer organizations, postal unions and postal management to support Carper’s efforts to come up with the right bill. Adding Moran, Blunt and McCaskill to the list of supporters demonstrates that this issue is a bipartisan one and that Congress can avoid the usual snarls on Capitol Hill to get the job done. We would like to see all senators recognize the common sense in the essential provisions of Carper’s proposal.”
NNA represents 2,200 community newspapers across America, situated primarily in America’s small towns, urban neighborhoods and suburban areas. Community newspapers depend heavily upon the Postal Service to reach their subscribers.