Postal Reform in 2012? Possibility Is Looking Bleak

WASHINGTON, DC—The House of Representatives is putting Mr. ZIP on ice, and the many industries impacted by the U.S. Postal Service are up in arms by the lack of action on postal reform.

A Capitol Hill source told the National Journal that the House would not debate the reform bill prior to its August recess, making the passage of legislation before the lame-duck session following November's election highly unlikely. The post-election session features a laundry list of outstanding business, among them appropriations and a farm bill.

The source said that House leadership decided not to debate the bill prior to recess, despite the objections of House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Rep. Dennis Ross, (R-FL), authors of H.R. 2309, the Postal Reform Act. The bill was approved by the committee last fall, but has stalled en route to a full House vote.

The Senate passed its version of postal reform in April and is awaiting the House-passed version to resolve differences between the bills.

Minus Congressional help, the USPS was also set to default on retiree health fund payments due Aug. 1 and next month.