[Page S1743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 99--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT CONGRESS 
 SHOULD TAKE ALL APPROPRIATE MEASURES TO ENSURE THAT THE UNITED STATES 
  POSTAL SERVICE REMAINS AN INDEPENDENT ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FEDERAL 
             GOVERNMENT AND IS NOT SUBJECT TO PRIVATIZATION

  Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. Moran, Mr. Carper, Ms. Murkowski, Ms. 
Smith, Ms. Collins, Mr. Jones, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Blunt, 
Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Roberts, Mr. King, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Harris, Mr. 
Udall, Mr. Reed, Ms. Baldwin, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Sinema, 
Mr. Kaine, Mr. Tester, Ms. Rosen, and Ms. Hassan) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs:

                               S. Res. 99

       Whereas Congress has the authority to establish post 
     offices and post roads under clause 7 of section 8 of article 
     I of the Constitution of the United States;
       Whereas the United States Postal Service is a self-
     sustaining, independent establishment that relies on revenue 
     derived from the sale of postal services and products, not on 
     taxpayer funds;
       Whereas more than 503,000 career employees work for the 
     United States Postal Service, including more than 105,000 
     military veterans;
       Whereas the United States Postal Service is at the center 
     of the mailing industry, which generates $1,400,000,000,000 
     annually and employs approximately 7,500,000 individuals in 
     the United States;
       Whereas the United States Postal Service serves the needs 
     of approximately 157,000,000 business and residential 
     customers not fewer than 6 days per week, maintains an 
     affordable and universal network, and connects the rural, 
     suburban, and urban communities of the United States;
       Whereas the United States Postal Service is consistently 
     the highest-rated agency of the Federal Government in 
     nonpartisan opinion polls;
       Whereas the United States Postal Service is the second 
     largest employer of veterans in the United States;
       Whereas the employees of the United States Postal Service--
       (1) are dedicated public servants who do more than process 
     and deliver the mail of the people of the United States; and
       (2) serve as the eyes and ears of the communities of the 
     United States and often respond first in situations involving 
     health, safety, and crime in those communities; and
       Whereas the privatization of the United States Postal 
     Service would--
       (1) result in higher prices and reduced services for the 
     customers of the United States Postal Service, especially in 
     rural communities;
       (2) jeopardize the booming e-commerce sector; and
       (3) cripple a major part of the critical infrastructure of 
     the United States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that Congress 
     should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the 
     United States Postal Service remains an independent 
     establishment of the Federal Government and is not subject to 
     privatization, in whole or in part.

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