Fair/Equitable Issue Stalls Postal Reform

WASHINGTON, DC--Congress left town for the Thanksgiving break without passing postal reform. At the center of the debate is an amendment being offered by Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) to add language similar to a provision in the House-passed bill to require that postage rates be "fair and equitable." The U.S. Postal Service, as well as Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), the chief sponsor of the bill, is adamantly opposed to the amendment. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) offered to allow a vote on the Senate floor to include debate and a vote on the amendment. While Senator Collins agreed to that strategy, Senator Bond did not. Bond concluded it would be difficult to convince the Senate to vote against the bill's chief sponsor on the amendment.