Some feel that this is a union backed bailout and that the union has no interest in protecting the American tax payer. These people feel that the USPS should be left to sink or swim and that if they fail this would be the beginning of government employee reduction. Other believe that it has been proven that things cannot go on the way they are ultimately, far-reaching changes are essential for survival. Rebuttal to Reasons for Non-Passage

The passage of HR 1351 is a good first step in enabling the USPS to survive. The current crisis is basically a result of HR 6407. In 2006, the United States Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA). This bill required that the USPS prepay its potential health care benefit payments to retirees for the next seventy five years in a ten-year time span. The deep hole of debt that is presently facing the USPS is completely due to the burdensome prepayments for future retiree health care benefits imposed by Congress in this act (Nader, 2011).

Congress is in the end responsible for making this mess and thus must be the ones to fix it. Without swift Congressional action on this just and sensible measure, the United States Postal Service along with it the communities it binds and the over one trillion economy it fosters directly are in serious jeopardy. Make no mistake, this cannot realistically be mislabeled a bailout since all the funds are already there and not a dime came from taxes. And at the end of the day, this targeted understanding is fundamental for the maximizing of successful operational efficiencies already in progress.

Conclusion

The future of USPS and mail delivery is not looking bright. As digital...

Congress, nonetheless, is making that effort even harder by staggering USPS's capability to cut costs and by banning competition. Mail service may lose its battle for continued existence, but it should be permitted make a run. As digital technologies become more and more accessible, mail is used less and less. E-mail, online bill payment, and even digital greeting cards are taking the place of paper and stamps. The inclination is clear First-class mail amount has shrunk twenty percent since its peak in 2006, and the fall shows no sign of ending. This doesn't automatically mean that mail service will go away altogether. There may very well be a use for hand-delivered mail going forward. And package delivery is up in today's online shopping economy. But there's no doubt the environment and scope of mail delivery will change radically.
Works Cited

"H.R. 1351: United States Postal Service Pension Obligation Recalculation and Restoration

Act of 2011." 2011. Web. 3 November 2011. Available at:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-1351&tab=summary

Nader, R. (2011). "Letter to Congress." http://nader.org/uploads/USPS-ltr.pdf

O'Farrell, Brigid. (2011). "Ten Reasons That the U.S. Postal Service is Not a Failure -- and is Vital to Our Country." Web. 3 November 2011. Available at:

http://www.newdeal20.org/2011/09/22/ten-reasons-that-the-us-postal-service-is-not-a-failure-and-is-vital-to-our-country-59384/

"What's your position on H.R. 1351?" 2011. Web. 3 November 2011. Available at:

https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/hr1351