[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16064]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             FINANCIAL EMERGENCY FACING U.S. POSTAL SERVICE

  (Mr. TOWNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I would like to talk about the financial 
emergency facing the postal service. We must act now to correct this 
problem.
  The postal service lost nearly $2 billion in the second quarter and 
expects to lose more than $6.5 billion in 2009, despite cutting 
billions in costs. It faces an unprecedented decline in mail volume due 
to the recession and the diversion of mail to electronic communication.
  Uniquely, the postal service is required to pay over $5 billion 
annually into the Retiree Health Benefits Trust Fund, which is 
overfunded compared to similar companies. An inflexible law requires 
the postal service to shell out billions of dollars to prefund retiree 
benefits, regardless of economic or financial conditions.
  The postal service expects a cash shortfall of $1.5 billion at the 
end of the fiscal year and might not be able to meet its financial 
obligations. This situation is a threat to postal employees and 
customers. We must act now to address the financial emergency at the 
postal service and continue to work on its long-term challenges as 
well.

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