On the recordApril 25, 2012
Madam President, I will vote for S. 1789, the 21st Century Postal Service Act, because it is undeniable that the Postal Service is facing a crisis and something must be done very soon. There are those who say that this bill goes too far in reforming the Postal Service and implementing uncomfortable changes, and then there are those who say that this bill does not go far enough in transforming the Postal Service to be viable in the long term. I agree that this bill is not perfect. It is a compromise so just about everyone can find something in it to dislike. However, unless we do something to help the Postal Service cut costs, the borrowing authority of the Postal Service will run out in the fall and it will be unable to make payroll. I will support this bill, imperfect though it is, because we need to make progress in addressing this looming crisis now. Otherwise, if we wait much longer, we will be faced with a choice between a shut-down of mail service across our country or a massive taxpayer bailout, both of which would hurt the economy and take money out of the pockets of hardworking Americans.
