HELENA, Mont. (NMB) – A bipartisan bill championed by both of Montana’s U.S. Senators to reform the U.S. Postal Service is headed to President Joe Biden’s desk.
The Postal Reform Act cleared the Senate 79-19 earlier this month, with Republican Steve Daines and Democrat Jon Tester both voting for it.
The bill passed the House last month 342-92, with Montana’s lone Congressman, Republican Matt Rosendale, voting against it.
The aim of the bill is to require transparency and ensure long-term reliable mail service and financial stability of the Postal Service.
It requires the Postal Service to maintain its standard of delivering at least six days a week and allows them to partner with State, local, and non-Tribal governments to offer-non postal services – such as hunting and fishing licenses – that provide enhanced value to the public, provided it does not detract from core postal services and provided the agreements cover the costs.
The Postal Service will be required to develop “a public-facing, online dashboard with national and local level service performance data updated each week to provide additional transparency and promote compliance with on-time delivery of mail.”
The bill eliminates the requirement that retiree healthcare is prefunded, which the Senators say has caused serious financial strain and added billions in liabilities.
The legislation also requires future Postal Service retirees who have been paying into Medicare their entire careers to enroll in Medicare.
In addition, the bill increases special rates for rural newspaper distribution to promote local newspapers.
