* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Clarke
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
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Rally to Prevent Postal Service Closings and Staff Reductions
FOR the purpose of supporting the planned May 1st rally against post office and mail sorting center closings and staff reductions, adding the Council's voice to those urging the U.S. Postal Service to refrain from closing post office and mail sorting locations or reducing staff, and calling on Congress to move quickly to pass legislation that would improve the Postal Service's finances and prevent post office and sorting center closings or staff reductions.
body
Recitals
A moratorium that has protected post offices and mail sorting centers nationwide from closure is scheduled to end on May 15. With the end of this moratorium, any sorting centers can be closed by May 15, and post offices being considered for closure, both here and across the nation, are once again in imminent danger of closure by mid July 2012, unless federal relief legislation is approved and signed into law by the moratorium deadline.
Right now, the U.S. Senate has approved a legislative package to help salvage the Postal Service, mainly by ending the required prefunding of pension benefits at an annual rate of $5 billion and by returning $11 billion in excess payments that the USPS has already made into its federal retirement accounts. The Senate's plan also imposes strict rules governing proper procedures for proposed closing of post offices and mail sorting centers, rules which make a currently dysfunctional process no less stressful but at least more citizen responsive.
Our thanks to Maryland's U. S. Senators Benjamin Cardin and Barbara Mikulski in championing this legislation.
The House has yet to vote, however. Its plan differs from the Senate's and, in fact, has not yet even been introduced on the floor. Meanwhile, the moratorium clock is ticking.
We thank Baltimore's Congressional Delegation for its support of a relief package comparable to the U. S. Senate's and we urge our Delegation to share our sense of urgency for enactment before May 15.
In the words of U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, I Conn., "This great American institution, which still delivers over 560 million pieces of mail every day and helps support 8 million jobs throughout our economy, cannot be allowed to spiral downward into bankruptcy." Or into a down sizing of death through a thousand cuts inevitability.
The USPS is self supporting and receives no federal tax revenues in support of its operations, but the Congress of the United States remains legislatively in charge of this constitutionally required service.
Especially as we finally see a light at the end of our 4 year struggle to rebuild out nation's jobs base, the U.S. Congress would act against the nation's best interests by not acting to permit USPS the reasonable financial grounding to retain the hundreds of thousands of USPS jobs which we the public support, not with our taxes but with our private sector purchase of postage and postal services.
In an effort to support a reform of the USPS that would not require any postal closings or staff reductions, postal unions and concerned citizens have planned a rally for May 1st to urge the USPS to refrain from any immediate closings and to support the efforts in Congress to find an equitable and comprehensive solution to the Postal Service's financial difficulties.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Council supports the planned May 1st rally against post office and mail sorting center closings and staff reductions, adds its voice to those urging the U.S. Postal Service to refrain from closing post office and mail sorting locations or reducing staff, and calls on Congress to move quickly to pass legislation that would improve the Postal Service's finances and prevent post office and sorting center closings or staff reductions.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman Elijah Cummings, Congressman C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger, Congressman John Sarbanes, the Governor, the Mayor, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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