Last month, President Biden signed the Postal Reform Act 2022. The reform bill was written to give the United States Postal Service flexibility, as well as accountability, to get itself out of its struggling financial situation. The Bill passed bipartisan support, receiving a 79-19 vote in the Senate and a 342-92 vote in the House.
What Does The Bill Do?
It will save USPS $50 Billion over the next decade by removing its obligation to pay retirees health care costs years in advance. New retirees will now enroll in Medicare as their primary insurance.
The bill also requires USPS to create a public online dashboard with local and national delivery time data. The purpose of this is to establish transparency for better oversight and improved service.
How Will This Bill Affect Postal Customers?
One of the most important things this bill does is show that the government is committed to the future of USPS. Upon signing, President Biden said
"Today, we enshrine in law our recognition that the postal service is fundamental."
If you are a company that regularly uses direct mail for marketing or fulfillment, this bill should be incredibly encouraging to you as a sign that you'll be able to continue to use this service.
Hopefully, the bill helps USPS save money, and it passes on those savings to end users. Its not likely postage will go down, but prices will not rise as dramatically or rapidly as they have the past few years (although there is another price increase coming this summer.) There is also hope that with increased transparency, the department would be motivated to make improvements to operations that would improve delivery rates and times. TBD whether these things actually happen.
Want To Learn More?
You can read the bill itself here https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3076
This USA Today article gives some good background on why USPS is in a financially dire situation and how this bill might help https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/06/usps-reform-act-what-to-know/9482162002/