S. 380: Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003

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S. 380: Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003

108th Congress · introduced 2003-02-12 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Became Public Law No: 108-18.

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Official title

Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003

Plain summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on April 2, 2003. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003 - (Sec. 2) Amends Federal civil service law to revise the statutory formula for funding benefits under the Civil Service Retirement System for U.S. Postal Service employees (according to the model for funding the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), using dynamic rather than static assumptions). Requires: (1) within the computation of the actuarial present value of future benefits, the full value of benefits attributable to military and volunteer service for Postal Service employees first employed after June 30, 1971, and a prorated share of the value of benefits attributable to military and volunteer service for Postal Service employees first employed before July 1, 1971; and (2) amortization schedules for liquidation of Postal supplemental pension benefit liability set with interest computed at the rate used in the most recent dynamic actuarial valuation of the Civil Service Retirement System. Directs the United States Postal Service, the Department of the Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management each to prepare and submit to the President, Congress, and the General Accounting Office (GAO) by September 30, 2003, proposals detailing the extent to which the Department of the Treasury or the Postal Service should be responsible for funding benefits attributable to the military service of current and former Postal Service employees that, prior to enactment of this Act, were provided for under specified Federal civil service law. Requires GAO to evaluate and report on such proposals to specified congressional committees. (Sec. 3) Requires that savings accruing to the Postal Service and attributable to FY 2003 and 2004 be used to reduce the postal debt. Prohibits the Postal Service from incurring additional debt to offset the use of the savings to reduce the postal debt in FY 2003 and 2004. Requires that: (1) savings attributable to FY 2005 be used to continue holding postage rates unchanged and to reduce the postal debt; and (2) savings attributable to any fiscal year after FY 2005 be considered Postal Service operating expenses and, until otherwise provided for by law, be held in escrow and not be obligated or expended. Instructs the Postal Service to include in certain mandatory reports to Congress the amount applied toward reducing the postal debt and the size of such debt before and after the application of this Act during the period covered by the report. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the savings accruing to the Postal Service as a result of the enactment of this Act will be sufficient to allow the Postal Service to fulfill its commitment to hold postage rates unchanged until at least 2006; (2) because the Postal Service still faces substantial obligations related to postretirement health benefits for its current and former employees, some portion of those savings should be used to address the unfunded obligations; and (3) none of the savings should be used to pay bonuses to Postal Service executives. Directs the Postal Service to submit to the President and Congress its proposal detailing how any savings accruing to it as a result of the enactment of this Act, and which are attributable to any fiscal year after FY 2005, should be expended. Requires GAO to evaluate such proposal for specified congressional committees, and Congress, after receiving both proposal and evaluation, to revisit the question of how the savings should be used. Requires the Postmaster General to report to Congress how the Postal Service proposes to use any surplus determined by the Office of Management and Budget as of the end of FY 2025 or any earlier date by which all postal employees under the Civil Service Retirement System will have retired.

Congressional Research Service summary (Public Law), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME] · 23 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: S. 380, Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003 (2003-03-19); CBO cost estimate: S. 380, Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003 (2003-03-19); CBO cost estimate: S. 380, Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003 (2003-04-17); CBO cost estimate: S. 380, Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003 (2003-04-17)

Cosponsors on this site

Richard J. Durbin (D-IL)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME] reported raising $22.5 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

Recorded votes

• House roll call 115 (2003): On Passage, S380 (2003-04-08): Passed

Sources

• Congressional Research Service summary (Public Law)
• Congress.gov
• Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-108s380.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/108/s>

Record fed-us-cong108-s380 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong108 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong108