Congressman Panetta Votes for USPS Fairness Act House-Passed Bipartisan Bill to End USPS Funding Crisis and Allow Greater Investments in Employees and Service

WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, February 5, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (CA-20) voted for H.R.2382, the USPS Fairness Act, to end the pre-funding mandate for the United States Postal Service (USPS). The legislation will solve the most pressing financial problem facing the agency and provide relief to communities who have experienced service delays.

"I have heard from community members from across the Central Coast about ongoing mail delivery delays and issues, and from postal workers who are overworked and under-resourced. These problems are due in large part to the pre-funding mandate that has burdened the agency. This arbitrary mandate has done more harm than good to the agency, leading to service cuts and hindering competition with other delivery services. Today’s legislation seeks to repeal that mandate, and restore fiscal sanity to this critical service," said Congressman Panetta.  "The USPS Fairness Act will not only end USPS’s financial crisis but will allow the agency to hire more workers, maintain its commitments to its retirees, and invest in critical improvements."

In 2006, Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which required the USPS to prefund its retiree health benefits program for 75 years. Now, the USPS is the only federal agency that is required to pre-fund decades’ worth of health benefits for its future retirees. This mandate is responsible for more than 90 percent of USPS’s financial losses and 100 percent of losses over the past six years.