when you have to mail something do you have to stand in line i got to south park postal union. i do that see i see just how our customers do it. buy all my stamps there it it works out great. they do a great job. >> thank you towel after ou ofm. i would like to thank our staff for helping to organize today's event. without her i would be dead. finally, here's a remind thear you can find out more information about the national press club on our website and if you want to get a copy of today's program check it out at www.press.org. thank you. we're adjourned. you can see this program and more go to our website and search postal service. that's your access to c-span's archives and all related programming at c-span.org. rachel covers postal service issues for congio

stop breaking the postal unions. [ inaudible ] destroys the community. stop laying off the postal workers. post office should be based on human -- [ inaudible ] save it, stop destroying it. hey, hey, ho, h oo -- [ inaudible ] [ booing ] >> well, the good thing is, they've definitely been paying attention to the situation. [ laughter and applause ] at any rate. if we could only get that $11.4 billion back, we'd be able to keep a couple post offices open. but such mandated obligations have really been an enormous drag on our financial stability, and they are obligations which we've had absolutely no control over. consider this -- during the worst downturn in mail volume in 2008 and 2009, the operations of the postal service, the operations were profitable. our $6.6 billion in losses were due to a $7 billion mandated retiree health benefit payment that no other business would have made. given the volume declines we experienced, that statistic says to me that we do a very good job at controlling cost, but we're working with insurmountable constraints. over th

and are going to multilateral organization, flogs customs organization like ko, imo, universal postal union. we're working bilaterally and saying look, we need to raise standards. no one government, no one private sector firm, nobody can solve this on its own. it has to be a community effort. that's why one of the things we're going to be working on is to internationalize this. >> i've given up on 100% screening? >> we have. we are continuing to operate under the law. >> can mr. -- the commissioner just finish the answer to two of those that i posed in. >> okay. >> we must maintain our robust layered approach to enhance cargo security and we've got to continue to improve. we take the gao's comments seriously and would use them as mrs. wald well testified to improve our programs over the course of the past five or six years. the csi recommendation they made has saved us $35 million a year without diminishing our security with the csi program. that's maintaining our structure and expanding it is absolutely essential. >> i thank the chair and the ranking member. i yield back. >> thank you gent

. >>> 35,000 postal jobs are at risk, the head of the postal union says it's faster, his plans to consolidate or close, some workers take early retirement, others laid off, have to move to a new facility. postal service is trying to cut $20 billion over the neck three years. >>> major league baseball player us spended for alleged doping may be in uniform on opening day. ryan braun was suspended for 50 games after failing a league drug test. a neutral appeals panel thrown out the suspension, the board won't say how it came to the decision, but baseball blasted the ruling. >>> i would like to tonight announce a donation to the obama super pac which has the very unfortunate tongue twister name, priority usa action. i would like to give that pac one million dollars. >> comedian bill maher putting his money where his mouth is giving away one million dollars to keep president obama in the white house. a big boost, they raised less than $59,000 last month, that is according to the federal election commission. back to the crisis in syria, nations around the world meet to discuss how to stop the blood

international maritime organization, international civil and aviation organization, and the universal postal union. we are leading efforts to help improve the security of operations across the global supply chain, to raise international standards, and foster systems for trade recovery globally. the written testimony outlines these efforts in greater detail. let me close with the final thought. the global supply chain system is an interconnected multisystem highly complex. it encompasses foreign and domestic ports, transportation systems, conveyances, and infrastructure. its stength is its ability to deliver goods and sustain our daily lives on a near realtime basis. that system continues to grow in scale and importance, and so we must recognize today that without a doubt disruptions to this system will happen, and we must think anew on how to best build in not just efficiency, but security and resilience as well. our new national strategy for global supply chain security presents a blueprint for change while building on efforts and infrastructure that's been in place for some time. we encourage ot

international maritime organization, international civil and aviation organization, and the universal postal union. we are leading efforts to help improve the security of operations across the global supply chain, to raise international standards, and foster systems for trade recovery globally. the written testimony outlines these efforts in greater detail. let me close with the final thought. the global supply chain system is an interconnected multisystem highly complex. it encompasses foreign and domestic ports, transportation systems, conveyances, and infrastructure. its stength is its ability to deliver goods and sustain our daily lives on a near realtime basis. that system continues to grow in scale and importance, and so we must recognize today that without a doubt disruptions to this system will happen, and we must think anew on how to best build in not just efficiency, but security and resilience as well. our new national strategy for global supply chain security presents a blueprint for change while building on efforts and infrastructure that's been in place for some time. we encourage ot

postal service. so, to address concerns that you unions raised, we made clear that comparability was also a standard. that's important because there both sides of that issue, of the comparability issue. so now that it's in law, it's clear. and then senator carper, i believe it was, wanted to also make ioa that any issues in the entire title 39 that are relevant could also be considered. so, compared to where i started out, this is, broader and represents a considerable compromise. and, because it clarifies conflicting findings in previous arbitrations, i think it does accomplish some of the goals that you've outlined. >> mr. chairman? >> yes, senator levin? >> i think i see what senator begich is driving at and can be clarified, i think, by putting into this language what you, mr. chairman, just said. which is it's not limited to these relevant factors. any relevant factor could be considered. and that could be easily inserted by saying if we have this language, in rendering a the arbitration board shall consider any relevant factor including these three. i think that's what you said. and i think tha

residents and businesses and went on to say there are better ways for the postal service to save money. >>> a group of angry union members gathered an hour ago to call for an investigation into what they call are bogus costs quoted by officials. members of 5 public employee unions including san jose firefighters and police officers were at the press conference this morning. they say pension costs projections used by city officials in recent labor negotiations are blown out of proportion. >> somebody is lie in here. we have heard the mayor use this number in multiple places and we know it is a lie. we want the truth. we want fairness. we want lawfulness and we want a resolution to this problem. >> the union's claim the pension costs forecasts used by the city during negotiations is part of a larger effort by the city to overstate the severity of the pension problem in order to win greater concessions from workers. >>> 4 women are behind bars accused of shoplifting and firing a gun in a contra costa county mall. police were called to the parking lot outside the j this penny store outside sun valley mall around 5:45

in the meantime, i urge the postal service to continue to negotiate with the labor unions to come up awage/benefit structure for saturday service to save money in doing that. the last thing i want to say is it is not enough. i like to say facing a budget deficit in the country. it is not enough just to cut or raise taxes or revenues, we have to find ways to grow the economy. the postal service has to find ways to grow their business. they have to be more entrepreneurial. partnering with u.p.s. or fed ex to deliver for them. the mail for the last mile for the packages around the country. it makes money. we allow the postal do what u.p.s. and fed ex does. deliver wine and beer. there are other ideas out there. one is virtual mailboxes. a lot of ideas that the postal service needs to consider. it makes sense. when they do those things, we can't just get in the way. there is an ad campaign with home depot. you can do it. we can help. we have a good idea of what needs to be done. we need to able to help. the last thing i want to say is this. we have tried, the four of us, working on this

postal service offering a commemorative stamp of arizona becoming the 48th state in the union. ed mel depicting cathedral rock. >>> well, it's not only arizona's birthday, but valentine's day. the president, as the ap points out, popular and blue states had a red message at the white house. >> good morning. let me start with a quick public service announcement for all of the gentlemen out there today. today is valentine's day. do not forget. i speak from experience here. it is important that you remember this and go big. that's my advice. >> so, you still have a couple of hours to get the flowers on the valentine's day or the box of chocolate. the president, did by the way, tweet out, hey, happy valentine's day. happy valentine's day. we'll continue the conversation tomorrow morning on the washington journal. rick larson is a democrat from washington state. part of the china working group. we will talk about the chinese visit in washington. what it means for trade. your calls and comments tomorrow morning. kelly field will join us. the white house announcing a plan to forge a p

postal units. why? because these contract post offices are not hiring enough union workers who are allegedly taking union jobs away from the main branches. in other words even though the united states postal service was $8.5 billion in the hole in 2010, and the owner of the south temple office sent a check of $1 million every year to the postal service, under the contract, they have decided to close it because of union dispute. mr. carter: this is just plain wrong. my constituents should have a choice of which post office they want to use and use the one that serves them the best. if the privately owned contract office is performing better, they should be able to use that privately owned contract office. rest assured i will fight this nonsense and try to get this office left open. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? the gentleman from new york is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i rise today along with my colleague, congresswoman kathy hochul, to recognize the upcoming third anniversary of the tragic crash of continental connection flight

union labor. >> 11 minutes past the hour. 5:0053 degrees. >> the latest on money troubles for the postal service. some local processing centers will be affected. >> will the new nike shoes be sold or not? that's the question at prince george's plaza. oh dear... oh dear! ohh dear... i'm not sure exactly what happened here last night. i was out helping people save money on their car insurance. 2 more! you're doing it! aren't they doing great?! hiiiiiii!! come sweat with me! keep going richard. keep sweating!! geico. fifteen minutes could save you sweat! sweat! fifteen percent or more on car insurance. >> 5:13 on this friday morning. the u.s. postal service is pushing ahead with planned cuts. the cost-cutting effort will slow delivery of first-class mail. 35,000 jobs are expected to be lost mainly through attrition. the postal service will close plants in gaithersburg, waldorf and northrop and will shrink plants in cumberland, lynchburg, and roanoke. two baltimore law firms are suing facebook, the web site has violated privacy laws. they filed lawsuits in federal court in san jose. it claims facebo

postal service also issuing a commemorative stamp marking the 100th anniversary of arizona becoming a u.s. state, the 48th state in the union. ed mel, who is an arizona artist, depicting cathedral rock, which is one of arizona's red rock formations. it is now one of the forever stamps also unveiled today. happy birthday, arizona. it is not only arizona's birthday, it is, of course, valentine's day. and the president, as he points out, the blue state, he had a decidedly red day in the state house. in case you missed it -- >> good morning, and let me start with a quick public service announcement for all the gentlemen out there. today is valentine's day. do not forget. i speak from experience here. it is important that you remember this and go bake. that's my advice. >> so you still have a couple hours to get those flowers on this valentine's day or the box of chocolate. the president did, by the way, tweet out this afternoon "hey" at michelle obama. happy valentine's day. b.o. for barack obama. so happy valentine's day. we'll continue the conversation tomorrow morning on cspan's washington journal. a republican from louisian

unionized employer. two thousand and six the bush administration george bush in the republican congress passed a law saying that the health retirement benefits of postal workers seventy five years from now people who have not yet even been born have to be paid for within a ten year window between two thousand and six and twenty sixteen and so the post office has to come up with five and a half billion dollars a year for the next ten years to put into a fund which now is forty five billion dollars it is the most solvent fund in the entire federal government outside of those security put in a fund to pay for the retirement of postal workers who have not yet even been born no other corporation or come. but he in the history of america has ever had to do this no other government agency this was just a hit job on the post office in my opinion my conspiracy theory to take down the largest unionized employees break that union and it seems to be working how long before congress repeals this poison pill that was put in there. or anybody want to take me on the poison pill i mean do i am i not right on the facts here jack you may be right on the facts i don't th

union stuff here, miller lite. is the beer delivery and some other things a way that could really turn around the postal service? what are you proposing? >> ed, absolutely. the post office today is extraordinarily restricted in the kind of services and products that it can provide. if you go in a post office and you say to the clerk, can you notarize this letter for me, post office clerk says it's against the law, can't do it. can i get ten copies of my letter? sorry, can't do that. a fishing license? hunting license? can't do that. if i want to christmas time, can you wrap my package with christmas wrapping, can't do that. all over europe with post offices are doing is significantly diversifying, they are getting involved in e-telecommunications and making revenue. we've got to do a couple things. short term as you indicated, we have to relieve the post office of this horrendously ownerous responsibility of coming up with $5.r5 $5.5 billion every year. no other institution, private corporation, has to do that. second of all, the postal service, everybody agrees, has overpaid about $13 billion in various retirem