Political Quotes

“All along, our goal has been to get to a point, over 3 or 4 years, where we would save as close to $20 billion a year as we could. That is the number Postmaster General Donahoe gave to our committee as to what he needed, the Postal Service needed to get back in balance. On the current course, in fiscal year 2016 the U.S. Postal Service--I am reading now from the statement I have entered into the Record that the Postal Service has given us--will have a deficit of $21.3 billion. In 2016, under the passage of S. 1789 with our substitute amendment, the loss is reduced to $1.8 billion. That is from $21.3 billion to $1.8 billion. Well, of course, we want to get it to total balance, but we are clearly going to hit balance after that on the course we are on. That means, according to the Postal Service, passage of S. 1789 with our substitute amendment will save the Postal Service over $19 billion a year by 2016. That is exactly what the Postal Service needs to stay alive. We do it without compelling layoffs. We do it with incentives for retirement. We do it without mandating--as some of the amendments would that we will vote on tomorrow--the mass closure of mail-processing facilities or our post offices around the country, which, as Senator Collins said, would be a kind of shock therapy. It would so jolt the system that people would turn away from the post offices in increasing numbers. In fact, it would accelerate the loss of revenue.…”