Short-term relief for the Postal Service may finally be in sight. On Sept. 25th, The House, which approved H.R. 22 on Sept. 15th, voted in favor of combining the independent measure with stop-gap spending legislation (H. Con. Res. 191) by a vote of 217 to 190. The Senate is expected to take action on the measure early next week. A House-Senate panel included the provisions of H.R. 22, which would provide temporary financial relief to the Postal Service, in a stopgap funding bill that would keep the federal government afloat for a month after the new fiscal year starts next week. The provisions of H.R. 22 provide short term relief to the Postal Service by permitting it to reduce its payment to the retiree healthcare fund by $4 billion for Fiscal Year 2009.
APWU President William Burrus praised unionists for their efforts saying, “APWU members can be proud of the role they played in helping to advance this important legislation, I commend our union activists for their hard work.”
