Washington, D.C. - In the waning hours of the 109th Congress, both the House of Representatives and Senate passed HR 6407, a comprehensive postal reform bill, which is now awaiting the President for his signature. The legislation will enable the US Postal Service (USPS) to continue to provide universal service at affordable prices to the people of Hawaii and the nation.
"This action by Congress is important for my home state of Hawaii where our geographic location underscores the need for a viable Postal Service," said Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI). "Postal revenues have been seriously affected by the decline in first-class mail due to the use email, electronic bill payments, and other technological advances. This legislation takes an important step to ensure the Postal Service remains strong in light of new communications technology."
On February 9, 2006, the Senate passed a similar bill, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, S. 662. Senator Akaka was one of three Senate Democrats to serve in the conference committee which reconciled the differences between S. 662 and HR 22. HR 6407 is compromise between the two previously-passed measures.
Senator Akaka praised the four postal unions and three management associations for helping to focus the debate on the need to ensure the economic health of the USPS while preserving the rights and benefits of postal employees. As the ranking member of the federal workforce subcommittee, Senator Akaka argued that protecting workers' collective bargaining rights and benefits would not adversely affect modernization efforts
"This bill provides the appropriate balance of rate flexibility for the USPS while ensuring financial accountability and transparency of operations, and a strengthened postal regulatory commission," Senator Akaka added.
