Sen. Moran Applauds Passage of Postal Reform Legislation

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today applauded the passage of H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 to help improve and sustain the United States Postal Service (USPS).

“Throughout my time representing Kansans in Washington, D.C., I have advocated for the preservation of rural post offices and sensible reforms that ensure the Postal Service’s stability,” said Sen. Moran. “When a post office closes, it creates problems for businesses and the community and can cause significant harm to the local economy. For rural Kansans and older residents, the Postal Service is the glue that keeps them connected to the rest of the country. The Postal Service is an indispensable piece of infrastructure that can reach nearly every address in America, and I am pleased we are one step closer to getting this critical reform across the finish line.”

Sen. Moran has been a long-time supporter of preserving and reforming the USPS. This legislation included several provisions from Sen. Moran’s legislation the Postal Service Reform Act of 2018.

Click HERE or Below for Sen. Moran’s Full Remarks

Sen. Moran’s Provisions Included in H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022:

• allow USPS to enter into agreements with state, local and tribal governments to provide non-postal services to increase revenue;
• increase transparency of USPS delivery results by requiring USPS to submit frequent performance reports to Congress;
• create a new Postal Service Health Benefits program within the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program and integrate employees over age 64 to enroll in Medicare; and
• eliminate the pre-funding requirement of retiree health benefits.

Sen. Moran’s Work on Postal Reform:

• In 2001, then-Rep. Jerry Moran supported H.Con.Res.181 which expressed the sense of Congress that the USPS should provide a maximum degree of effective and regular services to all communities and take all necessary steps to ensure post offices are not closed or consolidated.
• In 2009, then-Rep. Jerry Moran supported H.R.22, the United States Postal Service Financial Relief Act of 2009, which reduced the amount the USPS must pay into the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund from $5.4 billion to $1.4 billion.
• In 2011, the USPS published a list of more than 130 rural post offices in Kansas that were under initial consideration for closure. In response, staff for Sen. Moran attended nearly every community meeting that USPS leadership held to solicit feedback on the future of their post office.

• Sen. Moran met with Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe on several occasions, including a U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) hearing on postal reform, to emphasize his support for keeping rural community post offices open.
• In November 2011, HSGAC adopted Sen. Moran’s amendment to protect rural post offices by strengthening the criteria for communities to fight back against closures during a markup of the Lieberman-Collins postal reform bill.

• In 2012, the Senate passed S.1789 the 21st Century Postal Service Act of 2012 which included Sen. Moran’s amendment from the HSGAC markup in 2011.

• S.1789 did not pass the House of Representatives.
• USPS abandoned efforts to close post offices on the 2011 list, and instead adjusted customer “window” hours for these locations—which kept post offices open in rural communities, and still allowed USPS to right-size its workforce and reduce labor costs.
• Sen. Moran held a follow-up conversation with U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, the Postmaster General and staff to discuss ways to protect rural post offices.

• No Kansas post offices were closed.

• In 2013, in response to the USPS announcement the agency would be eliminating Saturday mail delivery, Sen. Moran began requesting report language in the FSGG Subcommittee Appropriations bill requiring the USPS to maintain six-day and rural mail delivery without reduction in services. He has continued to support the six-day delivery provision in every subsequent fiscal year.
• In 2015, Sen. Moran led Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) to introduce the Improving Postal Operations Service and Transparency Act.
• In 2018, Sen. Moran introduced the Postal Service Reform Act of 2018: Improving Postal Operations, Service, and Transparency with Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.).
• In 2019, along with Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Sen. Moran led 23 of his Senate colleagues to reintroduce a bipartisan resolution opposing privatization of the USPS, noting the agency is a self-sustaining establishment and privatization would result in higher prices and reduced services for USPS customers, especially in rural communities.
• In 2020, Sen. Moran encouraged the new USPS Postmaster General to work with Congress to discuss postal reform legislation and released an editorial highlighting the new opportunity for the USPS and Congress to work together.
• In 2020, Sen. Moran wrote an op-ed on the importance of the USPS to rural life, which ran in the Salina Journal.

• In 2021, during an FSGG Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Sen. Moran expressed concern to the USPS OIG to consolidate another 18 mail processing centers under the agency’s proposed 10-year plan. Sen. Moran also cosponsored S.1720, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2020.
• On March 1, 2022, Sen. Moran spoke on the U.S. Senate floor regarding the importance of the USPS to Kansas and shared stories of the impact several Kansan letter carriers have had on their community.

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WASHINGTON, March 8, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will host the first public meeting of the inaugural Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production on March 23-24, 2022.  The public – including urban producers– is encouraged to attend.    

“I look forward to working with this new urban agriculture federal advisory committee,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The committee’s valuable insights and expertise will provide critical guidance to help us better serve urban agricultural producers, strengthen local food systems, and increase equity and access to healthy, local food.”   

The new federal advisory committee is part of USDA’s efforts to support urban agriculture, creating a network for feedback. Members were announced last month, and include agricultural producers, and representatives from the areas of higher education or extension programs, non-profits, business and economic development, supply chains and financing.   

About the Meeting   

USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production is coordinating the meeting, which runs from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET on March 23 and 24, 2022. To attend, register by March 18, 2022.   

At the meeting, committee members will discuss administrative matters and consult on the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Urban, Indoor and Emerging Agriculture grants.   

Members of the public who wish to submit comments or questions related to urban agriculture may submit them via www.regulations.gov.  

Comments must be submitted by March 18, 2022.   

For special accommodations, please contact Leslie Glover at (602) 395-9536 or [email protected].    

Additional details are available in the March 8, 2022 Federal Register notice and online at farmers.gov/urban or on the committee’s webpage.   

USDA and Urban Agriculture   

The Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production is part of a broad USDA investment in urban agriculture. Other efforts include:   

• Grants that target areas of food access, education, business and start-up costs for new farmers, and policy development related to zoning and other urban production needs.   
• Cooperative agreements that develop and test strategies for planning and implementing municipal compost plans and food waste reduction plans.   
• Investing $260,000 for risk management training and crop insurance education for historically underserved and urban producers through partnerships between USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) and the University of Maryland, University of Connecticut, and Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems.   
• Providing technical and financial assistance through conservation programs offered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).   
• Organizing 11 Farm Service Agency (FSA) urban and suburban county committees. FSA will organize additional committees.   

The Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production was established through the 2018 Farm Bill. It is led by NRCS and works in partnership with numerous USDA agencies that support urban agriculture. Its mission is to encourage and promote urban, indoor, and other emerging agricultural practices, including community composting and food waste reduction.   

More information is available at farmers.gov/urban and the new Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production website at www.usda.gov/partnerships/advisory-committee-urban-ag-innovative-production.   

Additional resources that may be of interest to urban agriculture entities include grants from USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture as well as FSA loans.   

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.   

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.