Title
Staff Report for Resolution Supporting the United States Postal Service
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Per direction provided at the March 17, 2014 City Council meeting, staff presents for Council consideration the proposed resolution supporting the United States Postal Service.
BACKGROUND
At the March 17, 2014 City Council meeting, representatives from the California State Association of Letter Carriers (CSALC) requested during public comments that Council consider adopting a resolution supporting the United States Postal Service (USPS) as well as efforts to protect the continued viability of our nation's mail delivery networks.
Several pieces of legislation related to the USPS also have been introduced in Congress:
-H.R. 630 Postal Service Protection Act of 2013 <http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/630>, was introduced by Representative Pete DeFazio on February 13, 2013, and has since been referred to the House Judiciary Committee and to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. The bill currently has 178 co-sponsors, including Representative Barbara Lee, who co-sponsored it on March 12, 2013. Congresswoman Lee has been an advocate for preserving historical post offices to prevent them from being sold by the USPS to generate revenue.
-S. 316 Postal Service Protection Act of 2013 <http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/316>, a mirror companion bill to the House version, was introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders on February 13, 2013, and has since been referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. This bill has not been co-sponsored by either Senator Dianne Feinstein or Senator Barbara Boxer, although there are currently 30 co-sponsors, all of whom are Democrats.
Both of those bills are in contrast to -H.R. 2748 Postal Reform Act of 2013 <http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/2748>, introduced by Representative Darrell Issa on July 19, 2013, which was approved in Committee on July 24, 2013 by a vote of 22-17. This bill would, among other things, eventually reduce the current 6-day delivery schedule to 5 days, provide for the phase-out of door delivery in favor of centralized or curbside delivery in most cases, and make programmatic changes to USPS Retiree Health Benefits.
Fiscal Impacts
There are no direct fiscal effects associated with adoption of the proposed resolution, although passage of H.R. 630, S. 316, or H.R. 2748 could have substantive long-term implications for the USPS's budget and operations.
PREPARED BY: Eric Engelbart, Assistant to the City Manager, City Manager's Office