Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act

Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 In 1970, Richard Nixon signed the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 into law. This law transformed the United States Post Office Department into the modern United States Postal Service. This was in response to a growing deficit in the post-war years and a nationwide strike by postal workers. 2001 Postal Crisis In 2001, an economic crisis was predicted for the Service that led Congressional leaders to hold hearings on what factors might cause a full blown crisis. These factors included falling revenue, falling mail volume due to competition, and increasing debt. When the crisis did hit, it was found that the lengthy rate setting process, higher personnel costs compared to competitors, and the increased usage of the internet all contributed to the crisis. The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) claimed that the $12 billion in annual discounts given to private mailers for pre-sorting mail was also to blame. President's Commission on the United States Postal Service In December of 2002, President Bush created the Commission on the United States Postal Service. It was this Commission's job to research the falling revenue of the Service and provide recommendations to the President about what actions could be taken to remedy the situation. In its final report, the Commission recommended that the Service should; • remain a public entity to provide a public good rather than becoming a private corporation, • better define the role of the Service and its monopoly by establishing a "Postal Regulatory Board," • focus on providing only services related to mail and shipping, • use the Postal Regulatory Board to overhaul the rate setting process in order to increase efficiency, • and update its aging infrastructure to increase revenue and efficiency. Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003 In 2003, Congress passed the Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003 as a stopgap measure to increase revenue in the Service. While it provided some relief, it also created an escrow account from which the Service had to pay in to yet could not withdraw from. It also made the Service liable for certain benefits granted to military and veteran employees, which was usually paid for by the United States Treasury and which no other government organization had to independently pay for. == Legislative History ==

The bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Tom Davis, a Republican from Virginia, and cosponsored by Republican John M. McHugh of New York and Democrats Henry Waxman of California and Danny K. Davis of Illinois. The bill was approved during the lame duck session of the 109th Congress, and approved via voice vote in the House and by unanimous consent in the Senate. According to Tom Davis, the Bush administration threatened to veto the legislation unless they added the provision regarding funding the employee benefits in advance with the objective of using that money to reduce the federal deficit. == Provisions ==

Postal Regulatory Commission Title VI replaced the Postal Rate Commission with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). The PRC was granted a greater scope of responsibilities and the power to issue subpoenas. == Impact on the Service ==

Between 2007 and 2016, the USPS lost $62.4 billion; the inspector general of the USPS estimated that $54.8 billion of that (87%) was due to prefunding retiree benefits. By the end of 2019, the USPS had $160.9 billion in debt, due to growth of the Internet, the Great Recession, and prepaying for employee benefits as stipulated in PAEA. USPS began defaulting on this payment in 2012. Columnist Dan Casey wrote in a July 2014 op-ed in The Roanoke Times that the PAEA is "one of the most insane laws Congress ever enacted". Bill Pascrell, a Democratic House member from New Jersey, said in 2019 that it was rushed through Congress without due consideration, and referred to it as "one of the worst pieces of legislation Congress has passed in a generation". It has been alleged that this legislation contributed to the 2020 United States Postal Service crisis. It eventually passed the Senate as part of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022. ==References==