[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 5, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H838-H839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REPEAL PREFUND MANDATE ON USPS

  (Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)

[[Page H839]]

  

  Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of 
H.R. 2382, the USPS Fairness Act, which passed today with large 
bipartisan and union support. I was proud to lead this bill with my 
friends and colleagues, Chairman Peter DeFazio and Representatives 
Brian Fitzpatrick and   Tom Reed.
  The USPS Fairness Act will repeal the mandate for the United States 
Postal Service to prefund future retiree health benefits. No other 
government agency or private business is plagued with a mandate like 
this. Since 2006, the prefunding mandate has wreaked havoc on USPS's 
finances, costing the agency $5.4 billion each year.
  I represent one of the most rural districts in the Nation, and in 
southern New Mexico, post offices and postal workers are an integral 
part of our communities, connecting businesses to customers, pharmacies 
to patients, and families to friends spread across our vast country.
  Congress created this prefunding crisis, so I am pleased the House of 
Representatives took the first step to solve it. I ask that the Senate 
take the next step with us.

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