According to the Washington Post, "In a round of unexpected dealmaking, the House and Senate began moving yesterday toward passage of legislation that would overhaul the business operations of the U.S. Postal Service for the first time since 1970. But key Senate and House leaders, including Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), came up with an agreement, and congressional aides said the measure could be approved no later than today under expedited procedures. Key features:
- Create a cap for raising postal rates by linking adjustments to increases in the consumer price index, giving mailers some predictability about postage increases. The price cap would be reviewed after 10 years by a newly created Postal Regulatory Commission, which could modify the cap or adopt an alternative rate system if necessary.
- Repeal a law that requires the Postal Service to make payments, originally intended for postal pensions but no longer needed, into an escrow fund. That essentially would release $78 billion over 60 years, money that would be used to cover retiree health-care liabilities, pay off postal debts to the Treasury and perhaps lower rate increases.
- Put in place a three-day waiting period before an employee is eligible to receive workers' compensation for job-related injuries. The waiting period is a feature of most state workers' comp programs, and at one point had been dubbed a deal-breaker by the National Association of Letter Carriers union. The NALC had no comment. Other federal employees are not subject to a waiting period.
A PostCom notice