Joseph Lieberman

Mr. LIEBERMAN

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I thank all our colleagues. We have made good bipartisan progress on a bipartisan bill that I think will go a long way toward solving the current crisis situation in our U.S. Postal Service. We have several amendments remaining, approximately nine rollcall votes--hopefully fewer as this goes on--and a number of other amendments that we hope will be considered by a voice vote and perhaps even, in the wisdom of the sponsor, withdrawn. At least I look at the occupant of the chair, and I know he is a man who is very wise, and I thank him. Mr. President, in the normal order, Senator Manchin of West Virginia is next up. I yield the floor.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote and to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, respectfully to my dear friend from West Virginia, I am going to oppose this amendment, and let me put it in this context. The U.S. Postal Service is in trouble. It is losing about $23 million or $24 million on the average every day, more than $13 billion in the last 2 years. It is not going to survive if the status quo prevails. It needs to change. This bill provides for change but in a way that we think is balanced and reasonable. My friend from West Virginia has introduced an amendment that would prohibit all change for the next 2 years and therefore I think open the way for a kind of death spiral for the U.S. Postal Service. There are many protections in our bill before a post office could be closed, even more or just as many before a mail-processing facility could be closed. We added more protections yesterday with the McCaskill-Merkley and the Tester-Levin amendments, but they allow change because without change this Postal Service of ours will die.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. I object on the same grounds we discussed earlier in this debate. It is irrelevant to the subject matter of the Postal Service.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. I thank my friend from Kentucky. Amendment No. 2076

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, this is an excellent and thoughtful amendment introduced by the Senator from New Mexico, and I am glad to support it. I urge that it be accepted by voice vote.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, next is the amendment offered by Senator Paul, amendment No. 2027.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I thank my friend from Maryland for moving expeditiously. I hope it will continue. Next is Senator Paul's amendment No. 2028.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, next on the list is Senator Cardin's amendment No. 2040, which I understand he will withdraw.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I respectfully oppose this amendment. This would actually fracture the U.S. Postal Service as we have known it, as a national institution that maintains national standards, including the promise of universal service wherever one lives or does business, by authorizing localities to break away. I think that in doing so, it would jeopardize the foundation promise our Postal Service made since the beginning of universal service. So I would oppose the amendment.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, the next amendment is Senator Carper's amendment No. 2065.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. I thank my friend from Delaware. Amendment No. 2029, as Modified Mr. President, we go now to Senator Paul's amendment No. 2029.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I support the amendment. The underlying bill requires the Postal Service to send us a detailed plan for attaining long-term financial solvency. This amendment would add several factors to the list of items that should be considered in the report. I think it strengthens the bill, and I urge its adoption by voice vote.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 2066

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, next is Senator Carper's amendment No. 2066.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I support the amendment on executive compensation. I believe it addresses this matter in a manner that President Bush 41 might have called prudent. I urge it be adopted by a voice vote.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote and lay that motion upon the table. The motion to lay upon the table was agreed to.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, next on our list--we are moving well; I thank my colleagues--is Senator Casey's amendment No. 2042. Amendment No. 2042

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise to oppose the amendment by my friend from Pennsylvania. Everybody acknowledges that the Postal Service is in crisis, losing $23 million a day. Mail volume has dropped 21 percent in the last 5 years. That means everybody--we simply cannot afford every mail processing facility that exists because there is not that much mail anymore. The Postal Service will only survive if we change it. Our bill allows for orderly change. This amendment would basically maintain the status quo for 4 years. I think doing so is a kind of invitation to the Postal Service to go into bankruptcy. Our country cannot afford that. So, respectfully, I would oppose the amendment.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. The next amendment is Senator Paul's amendment No. 2038. He has asked that I withdraw from the list that amendment on his behalf.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Next is Senator Landrieu's amendment No. 2072.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I thank Senator Landrieu for proposing this amendment. I support it enthusiastically. It will strengthen the protections regarding the closing of processing facilities, and it requires the Postal Service to take into account the impact of any potential closing or consolidation on small businesses. This amendment reminds us how many people and how many businesses, including particularly small businesses, across America depend on the U.S. Postal Service and why it is so important for us to change it to save it. So I thank my friend from Louisiana for proposing this amendment. I urge adoption of this amendment by voice vote.