As Senator Susan Collins has attempted to distance herself from Donald Trump’s attacks on the US Postal Service, she’s failed to mention that she championed the bill that has led to the agency’s current financial crisis, and in doing so she laid the groundwork for Trump’s efforts to undermine the USPS.
In 2006, Senator Collins was a chief sponsor of a postal reform bill that is now cited by experts as the root cause of the financial problems at USPS. She claimed that the bill would put the agency on “firm financial footing” when in fact it required them to pre-fund all future retiree benefits, a $5.5 billion a year burden that no other federal agency or private corporation is required to uphold.
The move was seen by many as an effort to turn up “the pressure on privatization” by saddling USPS with an insurmountable financial burden. According to former Postmaster General Megan Brennan, the pre-funding mandate championed by Collins is responsible for 80% of the agency’s losses.
“Senator Collins is responsible for getting the Postal Service into this mess in the first place, and now the best she can do as the president of her own party undermines the agency is send a letter?” said Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Lisa Roberts. “People across Maine rely on USPS to communicate with loved ones, receive important supplies, and yes, even cast their votes. Trump’s attacks on the Postal Service are an attack on a lifeline to rural communities, and Senator Collins has been his most important accomplice.”
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