As Congress approaches a historic moment that likely will result in the passage of comprehensive health care reform early next year, the NPMHU officers and legislative representatives are behind the scenes working hard to ensure that there is full protection for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) that currently covers all mail handlers and other federal and postal employees. Read More

The House of Representatives may debate and vote on a one-year, temporary fix to the Retiree Health Benefit Fund (RHBF) during the week of September 14 or shortly thereafter. While this is not the three-year bill approved in Committee and supported by the NPMHU, the amended version of HR 22 forestalls, for now, the looming default on a $5.4 billion payment scheduled for September 30.

The NPMHU will lobby ONLY the 339 cosponsors of HR 22 to get them to vote in favor of the new bill. We will inform them that this short-term fix is acceptable, but does not resolve the underlying issue of the grossly unfair financial burden that has been placed on the Postal Service by the excessive annual payments now required to be made into the RHBF. There is no word from the Senate on taking up the new HR 22. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs passed similar legislation (S. 1507) with an anti-union amendment, which the NPMHU strongly opposes. (Click here for more details of RHBF problem.)