[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 15, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S688-S689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Postal Service Reform Act

  Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I rise this afternoon to express my 
support for the Postal Service Reform Act, a piece of legislation that 
we expected to be on the Senate floor this week and look forward to it 
appearing shortly.
  The U.S. Postal Service has been struggling to stay financially 
solvent for years, and I am pleased Congress is finally--I say 
``finally.'' I think for as long as I have been in the Senate and 
perhaps as long as I have been in Congress, we have been working to 
address

[[Page S689]]

this issue, and I am pleased we are about to do so.
  The Postal Service has long been an essential piece of American 
communication and commerce, but its financial condition has recently, 
at least, threatened its future. Kansas's rural communities, in 
particular, where broadband access to brick-and-mortar businesses is 
limited, rely heavily upon the essential services of the Postal Service 
as a means of staying connected and competitive.
  The familiar sight of a U.S. Postal Service truck--the jeep, the 
truck that goes down our country roads making its deliveries--is part 
of the daily life for Kansas's farmers, ranchers, businesses, and 
neighborhoods.
  For rural America, the Postal Service--their mailman or their 
mailwoman--is often the glue that keeps those communities connected to 
the rest of the country. In many instances, we rely upon our postal 
carriers to make certain that somebody is alive and well, that they are 
OK in their homes, and report odd behavior or a crime that might occur. 
Our postal carriers are a significant component of the fabric of our 
communities.
  Unique in its ability to reach nearly every address in America, the 
Postal Service is an indispensable piece of infrastructure, in fact, 
created by the Constitution of the United States giving us the 
instructions to provide postal roads.
  During the height of the pandemic, the Postal Service employees 
maintained their delivery routes, bringing essential medicines, 
groceries, and vital supplies to families' doorsteps.
  We pay a lot of attention to veterans' issues, and I would highlight 
how important the Postal Service is for those who served our Nation. In 
most instances, it is how they receive their prescription drugs. It is 
beyond just handwritten cards and notes, although those are clearly 
important and, again, an important component of our life. We all enjoy 
receiving those. But the Nation is reminded firsthand about the 
irreplaceable role of the Postal Service.
  As I said, in my earliest days since representing Kansas in Congress, 
I have advocated for the preservation of rural post offices and 
commonsense reforms to ensure the Postal Service's stability.
  With every conversation I have had with the Postmaster General, I 
have reminded them perhaps they should spend less money on consultants 
and listen to their employees who might be the best people to tell them 
what they might do to improve their efficiency and save costs.
  When a post office closes--and we have had a few of those happen too 
frequently in Kansas--it creates problems for businesses and families; 
it may cause significant harm to the local economy; and it certainly 
makes a difference in the lives of seniors in those communities.
  For the past several sessions of Congress, the Senator from Delaware, 
Senator Carper, and I have introduced postal reform legislation and 
worked together with the goal of putting the Postal Service on firmer 
financial footing, improving service, and allowing for the development 
of new revenue streams and enhancing transparency through performance 
metrics.
  I have indicated to the Postmaster General in my conversations that 
the solution to the post office's financial conditions cannot be simply 
reducing services. The more services are reduced, the less likely 
Americans will or can use the Postal Service.
  So closing post offices, shortening the number of days in which mail 
is delivered, reducing the hours of the post office, slowing the 
delivery of the mail, closing mail-sorting centers can't be the 
solution to making certain that the post office has a bright future and 
that Americans are served.
  The Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, which I hope is on the floor 
soon for our consideration, was passed by the House last week, and we 
look forward to its arrival here. It builds upon our previous attempts 
to accomplish postal reform.
  Included in these reforms is the creation of a new Postal Service 
Health Benefits Program and focusing on reestablishing--stabilizing the 
USPS's finances, instead of funding benefits in advance.
  The bill will allow the Postal Service to enter into agreements with 
State, local, and Tribal governments as a new method of revenue for the 
Agency.
  I am also pleased that the bill will codify 6-day delivery, which is 
a provision I have long supported in my role as an appropriator and one 
that greatly benefits rural Kansas homes, where mail delivery is more 
difficult.
  The Postal Service Reform Act represents a great step forward to 
ensure that Kansans and Americans can continue to rely upon the U.S. 
Postal Service. I am a sponsor of this bill, and I intend to support it 
when it arrives in the Senate for a vote and urge my colleagues to join 
me in doing so.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Alaska.