Postal Service Reform Act of 2018
Latest action. Read the second time. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 366.
Postal Service Reform Act of 2018
This bill directs the Office of Personnel Management to establish the Postal Service Health Benefits Program (PSHBP) within the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program for all postal employees and annuitants. All Medicare-eligible postal annuitants and employees enrolled in PSHBP must also enroll in Medicare, including parts A, B, and D.
The bill eliminates the existing statutory pension payment schedule, cancels any outstanding payments, and amortizes payments over 40 years.
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) may establish a program to enter into agreements with an agency of any state government, local government, or tribal government to provide property and services on behalf of such agencies for non-commercial products and services. Distilled spirits, wine, or malt beverages shall be considered mailable if specified conditions apply.
The USPS shall submit to its Board of Governors: (1) a plan describing the actions it intends to take to achieve long-term solvency, and (2) a financial plan and budget consistent with that goal. The USPS must establish reasonable targets for performance to ensure that mail service for postal customers meets the service standards for market-dominant products.
There is established within USPS the position of Chief Innovation Officer. The USPS must submit to Congress and to the Postal Regulatory Commission a comprehensive strategy for maximizing revenues through innovative products and services.
The bill provides for emergency suspensions of post offices.
There is established in the USPS the Office of the Inspector General.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 22, 2018. 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 April 9, 2018: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 366.
- 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 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 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 March 22, 2018, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 3 Republicans.
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 March 22, 2018, 3141 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3123 days ago, on April 9, 2018.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 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