Henry Waxman: “I join my chairman in opposing this amendment. It sounds like the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) has some vision…”

“I join my chairman in opposing this amendment. It sounds like the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) has some vision of postal reform. Well, I just think that is great, except we cannot pass it. The alternative to this, as the chairman has pointed out, is going to be the existing system and undesirable increases on rates. So what is the amendment before us? It is not a different version of reform of the Postal Service. It would micro-manage the Postal Service's use of money that is now in an escrow and will tell them they have to use most of that money to prefund health benefits. Well, we say they must use some of that money for that, but if they shift the money for that purpose, then to run the Postal Service they are going to have to ask for an increase in rates. That is why in amendment would certainly be opposed by all the people who use the Postal Service, the mailers, the enterprises, the businesses in this country that rely on the Postal Service for their success. Now, the amendment does something else, and I just have to underscore it. As the chairman of the Committee on Government Reform mentioned, it would require the Postal Service to pay for the pensions for those who served in the military before they went to work for the Postal Service. If you were in the military and went to work for any other agency of government, that agency would not be required to pay for your military pension.…”