Postal Operations Sustainment and Transformation Act of 2011
Latest action. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-271.
Postal Operations Sustainment and Transformation Act of 2011 - Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to extend the redetermination of postal surplus or supplemental liability under the Civil Service Retirement System for each of FY2010 through FY2043 and report the results of such redetermination to the United States Postal Service (USPS) on or before June 30 of the subsequent fiscal year. Provides that if the result of a redetermination for a fiscal year is a surplus, that amount shall remain in the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund until distribution is authorized as follows: (1) if there is a surplus for FY2010-FY2016, such amount, or any part of it, may be transferred to the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund; (2) if there is a surplus for any of FY2017-FY2043, that amount, or any part of it, may be transferred to such Fund to pay any liability to such Fund; and (3) if all liability to such Fund is paid, amounts may be transferred to the Employees' Compensation Fund or to USPS for repayment of any obligation issued by it. Sets forth procedures for the transfer of such amounts.
Prescribes the "average pay" and the appropriate percentage thereof to be used in determining annuities for civilian employment with USPS for purposes of provisions relating to future benefits attributable to such employment.
Revises the method for calculating the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund liability. Requires OPM to provide data based on assumptions set by the Board of Actuaries of the Civil Service Retirement System and used in the actuarial valuations of the annuity and post-retirement health obligations of USPS.
Requires USPS to develop a plan for the expansion of retail alternatives to post offices, such as self-service kiosks, vending machines, the Internet, Postal Service employees or contractors on delivery routes, and contract postal units.
Allows USPS to exercise its authority to: (1) establish service standards for market-dominant products, and (2) adjust the frequency of the delivery of such products.
The summary continues for 6 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on May 17, 2011. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 6, 2011: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-271.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Thomas Carper (D-DE) introduced it on May 17, 2011. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 17, 2011, 5595 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5483 days ago, on September 6, 2011.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers