HUFFINGTON
07.22.12
GOINGPOSTAL
postal service, likely leaving a
much leaner agency in its place.
While Donahoe has requested
permission to cut 150,000 jobs,
the Democratic-controlled Senate
passed a bill in April that would
free up money to phase out around
100,000 positions. It would also
lighten the pre-funding burden,
limit overnight delivery in some
areas and allow the agency to start
shipping wine and beer like private
shipping companies already do.
The plan that Rep. Darrell Issa
(R-Calif.) is pushing in the House
is more severe. It would allow
for the phasing out of more than
150,000 jobs, facilitate a quicker
move to five-day delivery and bar
no-layoff clauses in labor contracts. It would also establish a
commission tasked with cutting
costs if the agency wasn’t hitting
its benchmarks.
“What we have in the Senate is not perfect, but it’s a very
good start,” says Sen. Tom Carper
(D-Del.), one of the most vocal
lawmakers on the issue. Carper,
who logged three tours with the
Navy in Vietnam during the war,
says he partly sees the postal service through the lens of someone
serving abroad. “The folks in Afghanistan, when I go visit them,