Biden signs into law Postal Service reform bill
President Biden on Wednesday signed into law a Postal Service reform bill that ensures mail delivery will still happen six times a week and puts the USPS on a more "sustainable and stable financial footing."
"Today, we enshrined into law our recognition that the Postal Service is fundamental to our economy, to our democracy, to our health, and the very sense of who we are as a nation," Biden said during a bill signing ceremony at the White House.
The bipartisan measure repeals an agency mandate that forced it to cover health care costs for retirees in advance; now, retired postal employees will sign up for Medicare once they are eligible. The House Oversight Committee says just these two reforms will save the USPS nearly $50 billion over the next 10 years, CNN reports.
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Additionally, the bill makes it so the mail will continue to be delivered six days a week; requires USPS to create an online public dashboard showing performance data; and gives the agency the ability to team up with local governments to provide non-postal services. The USPS does not receive taxpayer funds, and relies on money from selling stamps and other fees.
"It's no exaggeration to say that the Postal Service delivers democracy," Biden said. "And it's no exaggeration to say the Postal Service is as essential as it ever was, has ever been, today."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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