NAPS’ Legislative Work Continues
By Ivan D. Butts
NAPS National President
It’s that time of year! Well, maybe not the “Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” However, it is time for our association’s legislative leaders and SPAC champions to come to Washington, DC, and hit the Hill for our 2024 NAPS Legislative Training Seminar.
Executive Vice President Chuck Mulidore and our office staff have been busy readying the administrative processes to ensure all is ready to receive and prepare our delegates to march forward carrying the NAPS banner. They will engage with legislative leadership on Capitol Hill who could exact the changes we seek for the betterment of America’s Postal Service.
You might think that, with passage of the Postal Reform Act of 2022, we might have a legislative down period. Not so! There are myriad issues surrounding the agency concerning continued service matters as a result of the “Delivering for America” plan. The timely delivery standards that we—the EAS employees who ensure the day-to-day operations of delivering America’s mail—are accustomed to maintaining continue to decline.
This became evident to me when, at a NAPS conference, a manager was expressing their frustration at not having the resources to provide the service our customers expect, as well as the sense that executives are not concerned about this issue enough to look for ways to provide those necessary resources. A lot of emphasis is being put on data reporting, which NAPS believes is the best way of telling the story straight.
However, I recently have been informed of scenarios where one could curtail and delay with properly recorded First-Class Mail volumes and still have great performance in accordance with USPS reporting. This prompted me to ask, “Does USPS leadership still value service to the American people?” Based on this capability, I would have to question whether USPS leadership truly values service to the American people.
I don’t come to this conclusion based solely on this proper reporting process. However, it is coupled with changing service standards and slowing mail service by taking mail off planes, which all feeds into the big issue of service.
We also have the continuing issue of the safety and security of America’s Mail and the employees attempting to deliver it. On Nov. 29, 2023, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure USPS police officers have the authority to protect postal personnel, property and the U.S. Mail, whether on or off postal real estate. The bill was introduced with 10 original cosponsors. The Postal Police Reform Act is the companion legislation to H.R. 3005 introduced by Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and William Pascrell (D-NJ) earlier this year.
We also are continuing to work to repeal Social Security’s WEP and GPO provisions with support of H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, and S. 597, the Senate companion. Many retired CSRS EAS employees worked both for the Postal Service and private-sector employers over their working years, paying into both CSRS for their federal service and into Social Security for their private-sector employment. Retired CSRS EAS employees don’t receive Social Security benefits for their Postal Service employment, for which they paid no FICA tax.
However, unjustly in retirement, these CSRS retirees find out their Social Security benefits earned from their private-sector work or the private-sector work of their spouses is reduced by the WEP and GPO provisions in the Social Security law enacted several decades ago. NAPS believes CSRS retirees earned their full Social Security benefits in their private-sector jobs and should receive these benefits. We support repeal of these onerous provisions.
I look forward to welcoming our delegates at LTS and continuing NAPS’ important legislative efforts.
In solidarity…
1727 King Street, Suite 400
Alexandria, VA 22314-2753
703-836-9660 (phone)
703-836-9665 (fax)
Website by Morweb.org
Privacy Policy Copyright 2023