Subcommittee to Hold Markup of Issa-Ross Postal Reform Act Wednesday
Bill Would Create $10.7 Billion in Annual Savings to Save the Postal Service without a Taxpayer Bailout
WASHINGTON– Today, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., announced they would move forward H.R. 2309, the Issa-Ross Postal Reform Act of 2011, at a subcommittee business meeting Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. Subcommittee Chairman Ross will introduce an amendment to H.R. 2309 that includes additional savings measures bringing the total mandatory minimum annual savings in the bill to $10.7 billion dollars- more than this year’s record setting $10 billion projected loss for the Postal Service.
“The $10.7 billion annual savings in the Issa-Ross Postal Reform Act is the clear alternative to other proposals that put taxpayers on the hook for a multi-billion dollar bailout,” said Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. “Passing this legislation will move the Postal Service’s costs in-line with its declining revenues to create a financially viable and self-sustaining Postal Service.”
Ross, chairman of the subcommittee that oversees the postal service, agreed. “The Postal Service’s financial situation is rapidly deteriorating, with its projected loss now at $10 billion for this year. We need to act on comprehensive reform, like the Issa-Ross Postal Reform Act, now. We cannot afford to waste time with proposals that use a multi-billion dollar taxpayer bailout to put off real reform,” said Ross.
The Issa-Ross Postal Reform Act as amended will bring the following minimum, mandatory savings to the Postal Service:
Five Day Delivery: $2.5 billion/year
Curb and Cluster-box Delivery: $3.5 billion/year
Equalize Insurance Premiums: $700 million/year
Retail Closure and Consolidation: $1 billion/year
Processing Closure and Consolidation: $2 billion/year
Normalize Rates, Eliminate Special Deals: $1 billion/year
Total Savings: $10.7 billion/year
The business meeting of the subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Ross, will be held Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in Room 2154 Rayburn House Office Building, and can be viewed online at https://oversight.house.gov.
More information on the Postal Service’s financial crisis and the Issa-Ross Postal Reform Act is available at http://SavingThePostalService.com.
###