[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 15, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S679-S680]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       POSTAL SERVICE REFORM ACT

  Mr. SCHUMER. Now, Mr. President, last night--and this is relevant to 
what we just did, putting the new bill on the calendar for a second 
reading. Last night, we had a chance to continue progress on a 
bipartisan, long-overdue postal reform bill when I moved to 
expeditiously fix a few technical errors to the legislation sent to us 
by the House. Sadly, my request was blocked by the junior Senator from 
Florida without much in the way of clear explanation.
  For instance, he says he wants to stand up for postal workers, but 
all the organizations representing postal workers strongly support this 
bill. They are eager for it. He says he wants to protect and strengthen 
Medicare, but the Postal Service already pays into Medicare; and the 
CBO says this proposal, this bill, will save the government money.
  So I hope for the sake of our postal workers, our Postal Service, and 
for the millions, tens of millions, and even hundreds of millions of 
Americans who depend on the Postal Service, that this is not 
obstruction for obstruction's sake.
  This is a textbook example of why Americans often get frustrated with 
the Senate and with Washington. Postal reform is highly bipartisan. It 
got a majority of votes in the House from both parties. It is 
desperately needed. We all hear from our constituents about snail mail 
and the price they pay for it. It is backed by both parties in both 
Houses, including the chairman and ranking member of the relevant 
committees--the Democratic and Republican leading members of both 
committees. And it has broad support from the postal workers, who tend 
to be Democratic, and Postmaster DeJoy, who is a friend of President 
Trump's and was appointed by him.
  Nevertheless, it was blocked. I am sure that Republicans don't want 
to be the party that was responsible for blocking popular and 
bipartisan postal reform.
  The delay is regrettable, but the good news is that we will get 
bipartisan postal reform done. It has been negotiated for months and 
debated for a decade. It has enough bipartisan support--more than 
enough--ample support to become law, and I am hopeful we will move it 
through this Chamber as quickly as we can. And that is what the 
procedural motion I did before was about.
  And I certainly want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle for working on this bill, particularly, my

[[Page S680]]

friend Chairman Gary Peters, who spoke passionately last night in 
defense of the bill and rebutted all of the Senator from Florida's 
arguments handily. And I look forward to getting postal reform passed 
through this Chamber very soon.

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