[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8370]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                THE POSTAL PENSION LIABILITY ACT, S. 380

  Mr. SUNUNU. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate has taken 
action to pass S. 380, the Postal Pension Liability Act.
  I would like to thank my colleagues on the Governmental Affairs 
Committee for their effort in getting this bill passed, particularly 
Senator Collins and Senator Lieberman, chairman and ranking member, 
respectively, as well as Senator Stevens and Senator Carper, who have 
provided tremendous leadership in getting this bill through the Senate.
  As my colleagues may know, the U.S. Postal Service, USPS, is required 
to pay into the Civil Service Retirement System, CSRS, an amount that 
equals the full cost of its obligation to CSRS. While the Postal 
Service has done so, the money it has placed into this account has 
earned interest at a higher rate than previously thought. Thus, the 
Office of Personnel Management estimated in November that the pension 
obligations for the USPS totaled $5 billion and not a previously 
estimated $32 billion.
  This bill would correct the formula that overpays the Postal 
Service's obligation to the civil service retirement fund. In addition, 
this bill would stabilize postage rates through 2006 and help the 
Postal Service to pay down some of its debt. Stable postage rates will 
help keep shipping costs down as well as the indirect cost of all 
consumer goods.
  Without this bill, the U.S. Postal Service would continue to overfund 
its contribution to the Civil Service Retirement System fund. If it had 
not been evaluated and corrected, the overpayment could have reached 
tens of billions of dollars in the decades ahead.
  Mr. President, as a cosponsor of S. 380, I am pleased with the 
bipartisan manner in which the Senate has acted to pass this much-
needed bill. This spirit of cooperation is truly in the best interest 
of the American people.

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