In response to the News/Media Alliance and other mailers motion for reconsideration of the Postal Regulatory Commission’s (PRC) earlier approval of the Postal Service’s announced change in accepted analytical principles, the PRC issued an order on December 9, rescinding its October 7 letter and approval of the USPS accounting treatment for removal of retirement liabilities from the Postal Service Reform Act (PSRA). The PSRA resulted in a one-time reversal of $59.6 billion for accrued but unpaid retiree health benefits as of March 2022. On August 12, the Postal Service unilaterally declared in a letter to the PRC that the USPS plans to omit $57 billion in negative expenses from the Annual Compliance Review and that it plans to not accrue Retiree Health Benefits normal costs in FY 2022, in response to the PSRA’s cancellation of any payment required from the Postal Service under the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund. If the Postal Service seeks to change the established methodology, it must now file a petition in support of its proposed analytical principle changes, and cannot simply choose to make changes.
Holly Lubart is Vice President, Government Affairs at the News/Media Alliance. Previously, she served as Vice President of Government Affairs for the PA NewsMedia Association and started her career as a journalist. Lubart has over 20 years of political and communications experience.
