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Floor Speech

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, pursuant to section 3101(c) of the fiscal year 2016 budget resolution, I move to waive section 3101 of that resolution for purposes of the pending measure, and I ask for the yeas and nays.

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, let me congratulate Senator Peters and Senator Portman for their work.

This is a bill that has been looked at and worked on for a very long time, and I am glad that in a few moments we are going to pass it.

I know that the people of Vermont and all over this country are increasingly concerned about the long delays they are experiencing in getting the mail they need. Senior citizens and veterans are not getting the prescription drugs they need on time. Working families have been forced to pay late fees because it is taking much longer than normal with the Postal Service to mail their bills. The Postal Service Reform Act is a step forward in addressing those concerns, and I am very proud to support this bill.

This is a bill that will save the Postal Service billions of dollars a year by ending the absurd Bush-era mandate forcing the Postal Service to prefund 75 years of future retiree health benefits for employees who haven't even been born yet. It protects 6-day delivery service and gives the Postal Service the ability to offer new consumer products and services.

The bottom line is, the Postal Service is enormously important to people all over this country. This bill strengthens the Postal Service and will guarantee that the people of our country get the quality service they demand.

Vote on Motion to Waive

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