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H. R. 22
A Bill We Can Afford to Pay (Support)
H.R. 22 is a bill we can all afford to pay.
H. R. 22 reduces the cost that the Postal Service pays to pre-fund retiree health benefits.
Under the current law, the Postal Service must pay for
both current retiree health benefits – at a cost of more than $2 billion annually ... and pre-fund future retiree health costs by paying close to $5.5 billion per year into the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefit Fund. The fund has a balance of $32 billion.
A law that was passed two years ago required the Postal Service to pay $55.8 billion over a ten year period. The Postal Service is the only federal agency that is required to pre-fund this obligation. This is a payment that is usually spread over 30 years or more. H. R. 22 would do just that, spread the payment over 30 years without raising the premiums paid by today’s retirees or the premiums of future retirees – us – and it will not have any impact on our benefits. This is a good solution to the economic crisis we face in the Postal Service.
We lost over $2.8 billion last year. If H. R. 22 would have been passed at the beginning of last year, the Postal Service would have made money – a profit.
I ask, and I encourage, every member of our union, every employee of the Postal Service to become involved in legislation, support H. R. 22 ... and contribute to COLCPE.
If you and I don’t get involved, we one day may find ourselves looking for a job. This is no longer the USPS crying wolf. It’s here and it’s real.
Support H. R. 22 and make those phone calls; write those letters when asked to do so ... and please contribute to COLCPE. Don’t be penny-wise and dollar-foolish. If we don’t act now; if we don’t open our wallets and throw in a dollar or two, we may find ourselves waiting on the unemployment line.
Sincerely,
Joseph R. Palmerson, President
NALC Branch 2128 Toms River
February 4, 2009
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