(Direct Newsline)—After 11 years of effort, a postal reform bill won approval in a last-minute vote as Congress was packing up to adjourn on Saturday.

The bill, H.R. 6407, drafted by House Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) and ranking member Henry Waxman (D-CA), was approved by voice vote in both chambers early Saturday morning, as one of the last legislative acts of the 109th Congress. It now goes to the desk of President Bush, who is expected to sign it.

Reps. Davis and Waxman drafted their proposed bill last Wednesday in an effort to produce legislation that might appeal to the Senate, where a postal reform bill stalled in September. The bill transfers responsibility for military service benefits payable to postal retires to the Department of the Treasury. It also eliminates the requirement that the U.S. Postal Service pay $3 billion annually into an escrow account—a driver behind the 3-cent increase in stamp prices this year.

It’s estimated that relief from that payment burden will free up $78 billion over the next 60 years. The USPS can use those funds instead to fund retiree health costs, pay down debt and keep postal rate increases in check.

The bill passed this weekend also caps postal rates by tying any increases to hikes in the Consumer Price Index. Increases will thus be more predictable for mailers and will come in at or below the rate of inflation.

The new bill also provides for a streamlined rate case process. Under the new system, the USPS will be able to set new rates more quickly than the current nine-month review process, and will do so under the guidance of a new Postal Regulatory Commission. That commission will have the power to revise any new rate caps or rate systems.

Direct Marketing Association president and CEO John Greco congratulated Reps. Davis and Waxman, along with Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and Tom Carper (D-DE) and Representatives John McHugh (R-NY) and Danny Davis (D-IL).

“[They] have been leaders on postal issues for many years,” Greco said in a statement. “But over the past several days, they have really stepped up to the plate and done what was needed to bring this effort to a successful close.”

Saturday’s effort was something of a last-ditch stand for postal reform. Many observers gave a postal bill small chance of passage after the Republican-controlled Congress broke for elections last October without approving a compromise. Among other hurdles, the National Association of Letter Carriers objected to the Senate bill’s imposition of a three-day waiting period before injured carriers could start collecting workers’ compensation. That stipulation is still in the new bill crafted by Reps. Davis and Waxman.

NALC president William Young said in an e-mail newsletter to his union’s members that passage of the postal reform gave him a “bittersweet feeling,” because the bill preserves the union’s collective bargaining rights but includes the three-day wait, which “really sticks in my craw.” Young said he agreed on Friday not to oppose the bill, but said his union would now lobby to repeal the compensation waiting period.

After eleven years of effort, a last-minute vote as Congress was packing up to adjourn Saturday won approval for a postal reform bill.

The bill, H.R. 6407, drafted by House Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) and ranking member Henry Waxman (D-CA), was approved by voice vote in both chambers early Saturday morning, as one of the last legislative acts of the 109th Congress. It now goes to the desk of President Bush, who is expected to sign it.

Davis and Waxman drafted their proposed bill last Wednesday in an effort to produce legislation that might appeal to the Senate, where a postal reform bill stalled in September. The bill transfers responsibility for military service benefits payable to postal retires to the Department of the Treasury. It also eliminates the requirement that the U.S. Postal Service pay $3 billion annually into an escrow account — a driver behind the 3-cent increase in stamp prices this year.

It’s estimated that relief from that payment burden will free up $78 billion over the next 60 years. The USPS can use those funds instead to fund retiree health costs, pay down debt and keep postal rate increases in check.

The bill passed this weekend also caps postal rates by tying any increases to hikes in the Consumer Price Index. Increases will thus be more predictable for mailers and will come in at or below the rate of inflation.

The new bill also provides for a streamlined rate case process. Under the new system, the USPS will be able to set new rates more quickly than the current nine-month review process, and will do so under the guidance of a new Postal Regulatory Commission. That commission will have the power to revise any new rate caps or rate systems.

Direct Marketing Association president and CEO John Greco congratulated Davis and Waxman, along with Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and Tom Carper (D-DE) and Representatives John McHugh (R-NY) and Danny Davis (D-IL).

“[They] have been leaders on postal issues for many years,” Greco said in a release. “But over the past several days, they have really stepped up to the plate and done what was needed to bring this effort to a successful close.”

Saturday’s effort was something of a last-ditch stand for postal reform. Many observers gave a postal bill small chance of passage after the Republican-controlled Congress broke for elections last October without approving a compromise. Among other hurdles, the National Association of Letter Carriers objected to the Senate bill’s imposition of a three-day waiting period before injured carriers could start collecting workers’ compensation. That stipulation is still in the new bill crafted by Reps. Davis and Waxman.

NALC president William Young said in an e-mail newsletter to his union’s members that passage of the postal reform gave him a “bittersweet feeling”, because the bill preserves the union’s collective bargaining rights but includes the three-day wait, which “really sticks in my craw.” Young said he agreed on Friday not to oppose the bill, but said his union would now lobby to repeal the compensation waiting period.