Bipartisan Bill Introduced by Senator Hassan to Strengthen Postal Service and Improve Agency’s Long-Term Financial Stability Heads to President’s Desk

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate today passed bipartisan legislation, which U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan helped introduce, to strengthen the Postal Service and improve the agency’s long-term financial stability. The bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act, which now heads to President Biden’s desk, eliminates requirements that have decimated the Postal Services’ finances, increases transparency and accountability at the agency, and strengthens support for postal workers.  

“The Postal Service plays a vital role in the lives of Granite Staters – delivering medication, business supplies, and other necessities, while also connecting them to friends and family,” said Senator Hassan. “We must ensure that the Postal Service is operating effectively, and that it can provide reliable deliveries now and into the future. This bipartisan legislation will help improve financial stability, increase transparency at the Postal Service, and support postal workers. I’m pleased that Republicans and Democrats came together to support these reforms, and I look forward to the President signing this legislation into law.”

The Postal Service Reform Act eliminates the aggressive prefunding requirement that has financially hurt the Postal Service, and ensures that future Postal Service Employees and retirees enroll in Medicare. Together, these two reforms would create more than $49 billion in savings for the Postal Service over the next ten years. In addition, the bill requires the Postal Service to continue to deliver mail at least six days a week.

The legislation also improves transparency of Postal Service operations by requiring the publication of easily accessible weekly service data on the Postal Service website. It also requires regular reporting of Postal Service finances and operation to Congress.

Senator Hassan is working to improve the Postal Service, which is especially vital for rural communities in New Hampshire. Senator Hassan previously led negotiations to successfully include $10 billion for USPS in a COVID-19 relief and government funding package to help the agency address pandemic-related mail delays. Following a request from Senator Hassan, the Postal Service Inspector General issued a report that found that the main cause of postal delays and poor service in New Hampshire was due to a lack of permanent staff. In the months following the report, the Postal Service hired more than 150 new permanent employees in New Hampshire.

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