Email reply I received this morning (Tuesday 4/17/12) from Ashley, Legislative Correspondent for Senator Menendez (D-NJ) who we met in Washington, DC on March 14th:
Ray,
You are correct, the Senate will be holding a vote to see if they can begin debate on S. 1789. As of right now, it will occur approximately at 11:10am. The timing could change, but I will let you know. If you can, try to watch C-SPAN. Either way I know the APWU website will have updates as well. I'm glad we are finally getting the ball rolling on this!
Here is an article from one of our Congressional publications. Let me know if you have any questions!
Ashley
New Measure to Overhaul Postal Service Ready for Action in Senate
By Niels Lesniewski and Rachael Bade, CQ Staff
The Senate appears ready to take up a long-delayed bill to overhaul the U.S. Postal Service, after the measure's lead sponsors unveiled new legislative language to slow post office closures and delay changes to overnight delivery.
Late Tuesday morning, senators will reconsider a March 27 vote on which the Senate rejected a bid to limit debate on proceeding to the measure (S 1789). If the Senate can muster the 60 affirmative votes needed to advance the legislation Tuesday, the maneuver would enable the chamber to formally consider the bill no later than Wednesday.
Lawmakers involved in the postal service measure on both sides of the aisle have urged floor consideration before a self-imposed May 15 deadline.
The bill has bipartisan support, but Republicans opposed cloture the first time Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., teed it up for a test vote, pushing instead for a floor debate on energy taxes and gas prices.
Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., who has been among the leading opponents of Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe's proposal to close many rural post offices and mail-processing centers, was among the senators expecting the bill to reach the floor this week.
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn., and ranking Republican Susan Collins of Maine filed a new substitute Monday in an effort to advance their legislation. The substitute would significantly slow the cost-savings changes Donahoe hoped to make to his agency.
"Our proposal would slow dramatic changes that could further destabilize USPS, while easing certain unnecessary constraints," Lieberman said in a statement released Monday night.
Delaware Democrat Thomas R. Carper, a cosponsor, praised the substitute in a separate statement saying that it "addresses the concerns raised by many of my Senate colleagues in a responsible manner."
The manager's amendment has won over Sanders, originally an outspoken critic of the bill.
"The manager's [amendment] is something we've worked on, and I think it will strengthen our efforts to protect small post offices, small processing plants and protect jobs in the Postal Service," he said Monday evening. "I think it is a step forward."
Sanders earlier this year led a group of 26 Democrats in an effort to change the bill and specifically keep Donahoe from implementing part of his cost-saving plan. Several of his proposed changes have been included in the substitute amendment.
For example, the substitute would keep the Postal Service from loosening some first-class mail delivery standards, requiring the agency to maintain some overnight deliveries for several years. Donahoe wanted to move to a two-to-three-day standard, but opponents said that would drive away more customers and drive the service into a bigger financial rut.
The substitute will also make it more difficult for the Postal Service to eliminate Saturday delivery, requiring it to meet several requirements after the two-year moratorium on Donahoe's proposed move from six- to five-day delivery.
Chief Innovation Officer
Sanders praised a new provision in the substitute that would establish a Postal Service "chief innovation officer" tasked with developing new postal products and services that could grow the agency's revenue. It would also create a commission made up of businessmen and tech-savvy individuals who would be responsible for providing guidance to the Postal Service and Congress on the agency's long-term sustainability.
The substitute will also make it more difficult for Donahoe to close post offices and mail processing centers. For instance, it would give the Postal Regulatory Commission unprecedented power to require the agency when closing a facility to address customer complaints it deems justified, such as criticisms that service standards are not being met. The PRC would have the final say in whether the service could close a facility.
A version of this article appeared in the April 17, 2012 print issue of CQ Today
Source: CQ Today Online News
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The vote for Cloture was 74 yes, 22 no. The Senate has now begun debating S.1789. You can watch the debate live in C-SPAN2.
http://www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN2/
