Today, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, addressed the National Postal Supervisors Association during their annual conference in Washington D.C.
In 2006, Senator Collins authored landmark postal reform legislation that ultimately became law. The Postal Reform Act was the first modernization of the Postal Service in more than 30 years. Senator Collins’ postal reform bill modernizes the rate setting-process to provide more predictability in postal rates and will help ensure a stronger financial future for the Postal Service.
Before making her address, Senator Collins greeted a number of postal employees from Maine.
A text of Senator Collins’ speech follows:
It is a pleasure to be part of your annual legislative conference and to welcome you all to Washington.
I would like to thank Ted Keating for inviting me back to meet with you. I understand that 2008 is the 100th anniversary of the National Association of Postal Supervisors, which should make your annual conference this September in Louisville a great celebration. Let me congratulate you in advance for a century of outstanding service.
When we met last year, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act had just been signed into law, and I was honored by your recognition of that legislative accomplishment. As I said at the time, it was an accomplishment I share with you. The National Association of Postal Supervisors was the first postal organization to embrace this crucial issue, and the success we achieved would not have been possible without your support and insight.
You demonstrate your commitment to public service every day, and by your participation in this conference. As you have in years past, you began this conference with a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. There is no better way to begin the work you undertake here than to honor those who have served our country. I commend you for that wonderful gesture.
Postmaster General Potter recently made a point that bears repeating. As the economic downturn has accelerated, the Postal Service closed 2007 with the strongest quarter in its history in terms of customer service. Despite the onset of severe winter weather and the pressures of the holiday mailing season, on-time deliveries reached all-time highs.
The American people recognize this commitment to service. In 2007, for the third year in a row, the respected Ponemon Institute rated the Postal Service as the most trusted government agency and one of the Top 10 trusted organizations in the country, public or private. A recent Roper Poll found that our citizens rate the Postal Service more favorably than any other government agency. This remarkable degree of public confidence would not be possible without your commitment.
Our postal reform legislation positions the Postal Service for the future. But as we implement this new business model, we must do more to support policies that will enable the Postal Service to attract and retain the best workforce. You, and the dedicated men and women you represent, deserve policies that are fair and that recognize the great contributions you make to our society and our economy.
One of the top issues that must be addressed is ensuring favorable tax treatment of health insurance premiums for federal retirees, including postal workers. I am an original co-sponsor of legislation to allow federal, civilian, and military retirees to participate in “premium conversion” through payment of their health insurance premiums with pre-tax earnings.
The increasing cost of health care is a critical issue for all Americans, but especially to retirees living on limited incomes. Currently, premium conversion applies only to active federal employees.
Unfortunately, federal retirees do not receive this advantage. Our legislation will make the necessary changes to the Tax Code to allow postal, federal, and military retirees to use pre-tax earnings to pay their share of their health insurance premiums. Extending this benefit to our retirees will make a great difference. It will honor their service. It is a matter of fairness.
Nowhere is fairness more of an issue than in the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for public employees or their spouses. As the lead Republican sponsor of the Social Security Fairness Act, I am committed to seeing that these damaging provisions are eliminated.
These provisions negatively impact hundreds of thousands of public employees, including postal retirees and their spouses. GPO and WEP unfairly reduce or eliminate benefits that public employees or their spouses have earned and should be able to expect in retirement. The number of people harmed by these provisions across the country is growing every day as more and more people reach retirement age. We should not penalize people who have devoted their lives to public service by reducing the pensions they have earned. This is a matter of fundamental fairness. I will continue to work for the enactment of this critical bill, and I appreciate your support.
Finally, I’d like to talk briefly about an issue that continues to threaten the Postal Service’s fiscal viability we worked so hard to achieve with postal reform. The entire postal community is very concerned about proposed “Do Not Mail” legislation. This sounds good to a lot of legislators, who mistakenly equate this ill-conceived proposal with the “Do Not Call” registry.
In fact, it would have devastating consequences. Direct mail is an essential part of the Postal Service’s mail volume. “Do Not Mail” legislation would curb this growth and place a heavier burden on other classes of mail to cover the fixed costs of providing postal service, and thus raise its costs and jeopardize universal, affordable service.
Direct mail is in no way comparable to the unsolicited and invasive telephone calls that are curbed by the “Do Not Call” registry. Direct mail imposes no burden on the public, it causes no interruptions, and I, for one, look forward to the Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupons I get in the mail. A “Do Not Mail” registry would attempt to solve a problem that does not exist and would have devastating consequences for every home, community, and business that relies upon our Postal Service. I commend the postal community for joining with the Direct Marketing Association and other business groups to form the "Mail Moves America Coalition" to educate consumers and states on how do-not-mail registry could be detrimental to them. You may be sure that if this issue comes before the Senate you will find no stronger advocate than me for your interests.
This conference is a vital part of the legislative process, an opportunity for your experience and knowledge to be brought to bear on issues of great importance to our nation. We achieved success in postal reform by working together, and I know that spirit of cooperation will lead us to even more success in the future.