the postal reform bill. e leader tried to move this bill forward by saying let's stick to relevant amendments, relevant to the bill which is a brought brod standard, a lot broader than a germaneness standard. then there is an objection to that because there's another matter which the senator from kentucky rightfully has an interest in, we all have an interest in various matters many of which are $2 billion or more in terms of costs but that amendment of the senator from kentucky is not relevant to this bill. and unless he says he gets his way and has a 15-minute debate on a $2 billion subject, he's going to object to us addressing a subject which is involving every one of our states. now, this is why we have so many difficulties here at times, at least, moving forward in the senate. because any one of us at any time can object to moving legislation that is relevant and amendments that are relevant in order to get his or her way on a totally unrelated amendment. mr. paul: may i interscect judgeject -- interjec

contributions the postal workers make and the money that the postal service invests. so there is, as i mentioned earlier, a significant overpayment into the federal employees retirement system, and we, along with the administration, the g.a.o., the independent actuaries, the postal service inspector general all have proposed that that overpayment be returned to the postal service. and it would be used in part to finance these buyouts and retirement incentives to reduce the size of the postal workforce. now, let's look at how c.b.o. scores this particular part of the bill. first of all, c.b.o. gives this bill no credit whatsoever for the buyouts, and here's why: c.b.o. argues that the postal service already has buyout authority. but, mr. president, as you know better than anybody in this chamber, our bill changes the status quo in two critical ways. first of all, the postal service has no cash right now to do these buyouts. that is one of the reasons that we're so eager to get the money from the overpayment to fers refunded to the postal service. second, in our bill, in

president, the postal service is america. that is why we're willing to come together across party lines to fight hard to preserve the essential services that the postal service provides. we also know that serving rural communities isn't always profitable. private companies won't come in to fill the gap if the postal service leaves. as americans, we need our rural communities to stay in touch with the rest of this great nation and i am fight along with our delegation to put a stop to these proposed closures. these concerns for the future of the postal service are bringing all west virginia, democrats and republicans alike together for protests, rallies and letter writing campaigns and in communities where they are told the post office may close i am hearing fears, senior that is couldn't get medicine delivered, problems receiving important checks and other financial services, and just as importantly, the loss of the ability to stay connected to the community and to the country as a whole. this note comes from mr. george jones i

first, the u.s. postal service contributes 11.9% of the employee salaries to the fund, and the employees contribute .8%. the postal service contribution comes from revenue paid for postage. and this money comes from ratepayers. the employee contribution is made in exchange for it to fund benefit." there are no tax dollars authorized or appropriated by this bill. it is a quirk of the way the unified budget works. and that is why we should vote to waive this point of order. we are not talking about taxpayer dollars here. thank you mr. president. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to waive the point of order by the senator from alabama. the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: the presiding officer: does any senator want to change their vote? seeing none, on this vote, the yeas are 62, the nays are 37. three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative the motion is agreed to. mr. lieberman: mr. president i move for reconsi

contributions the postal workers make and the money that the postal service invests. so there is, as i mentioned earlier, a significant overpayment into the federal employees retirement system, and we, along with the administration, the g.a.o., the independent actuaries, the postal service inspector general all have proposed that that overpayment be returned to the postal service. and it would be used in part to finance these buyouts and retirement incentives to reduce the size of the postal workforce. now, let's look at how c.b.o. scores this particular part of the bill. first of all, c.b.o. gives this bill no credit whatsoever for the buyouts, and here's why: c.b.o. argues that the postal service already has buyout authority. but, mr. president, as you know better than anybody in this chamber, our bill changes the status quo in two critical ways. first of all, the postal service has no cash right now to do these buyouts. that is one of the reasons that we're so eager to get the money from the overpayment to fers refunded to the postal service. second, in our bill, in

through it all the united states postal service has been there to deliver the mail, rain or shine. but today america's postal system is in crisis. we kind of as -- that's a throwaway, through rain or shine. when i was a little boy, madam president, we had really bad snowstorms all over the west, but in searchlight, nevada, we got snow a few times a year but we had three feet of snow on the level. it was very, very bad. but i can remember a man, his name was conn hudgens. the mail tame to searchlight, there was a railroad went through nipton, california, 22 miles from searchlight and as that train sped through nipton they had an apparatus that would snatch the mail that was on the train. and that mail was for searchlight. they sorted it that way. this old man, conn hudgens walked through snow 22 miles to bring the mail. that's what we talk about when we say mail has been delivered through rain or shine. that's the mantra of the post office. but today america's postal system is in crisis. today, a personal note from a friend or payment to the electric company can be delivered online w

the postal service. today there are 550,000 people who are employees of the postal service. out of that, roughly 550,000 people, 125,000 are eligible to retire. are eligible to retire, and they have not chosen to do so despite the fact that they are eligible. one of the things the postmaster general wants to do, and i believe those of us who are cosponsors, coauthors this have bill, want to do is to encourage those who want to retire. 80% of the post office's costs are personnel costs. to the extent we continue to enable it to right size itself given the market share of 500,000 down to maybe 450,000 in the next year or two, 80% of the cost is personnel, that helps gets this enterprise back to the place where it's not bleeding money every day of every week of every month of this year. today the postal service will lose -- get this -- $23 million. today. today if you look at the amount of the money the postal service owes to the treasury, roughly $15 billion. maybe more than that with a line of credit that

and the postal service desperately needs our atefntle the american people who are served by the postal service desperately need our attention. and we need to set the stage today in which the taxpayers of the united states are protected from any future calls for support from the united states postal service, and tweendz make certain in that process, as we pursue this legislation, that those who live in rural communities where it is very difficult for the postal service to be financially viable, that their ability to have access to the postal service is not trampled on by the desire to see that only those post offices that are financially viable individually are the ones that remain. and in fact i would remind my colleagues that the postal rate service commission said we could close 3,700 post offices in the united states and save less than .7% of the money necessary to put the postal service back on financial sound basis. so, mr. president, i thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. the request, this legislation is important. the concepts represented in it are important to me. bu

the postal service has a debt to the u.s. treasury of $13 billion and will max out its credit limit of $15 billion this year. we have to address this crisis. it would be irresponsible for members to simply vote "no" on the motion to proceed if they have other ideas on how to address this crisis. i have urged a full and open and fair amendment process so that members can bring forth their alternative plans for saving the postal service. but we simply cannot allow the postal service to fail. the stakes are too high for our economy and for americans across this country. finally, i would remind my colleagues that the postal service's roots go back to our constitution. this is an organization that is vital to our heritage and to our future. i urge a "yes" vote for the motion to proceed. thank you, mr. president. ms. collins: mr. president, i would yield back the remainder of of the time on our side. mr. lieberman: and i would do the same, mr. president. the presiding officer: all time is yielded back. the clerk will report the mot

president, the postal service is america. nd that is why we're willing to come together across party lines to fight hard to preserve the essential services that the postal service provides. we also know that serving rural communities isn't always profitable and private companies won't come in to fill the gap if the postal service leaves. as americans, we need our rural communities to stay in touch with the rest of this great nation, and i am fighting along with the members of our delegation to put a stop to these proposed closures. these concerns for the future of the postal service are bringing all west virginians, democrats and republicans alike, together for protest, rallies and letter-writing campaigns. in communities where people were told their post offices down the road might be closed i'm hearing fears of unacceptable consequences, problems receiving important checks and other financial services. and just as importantly, the loss of the ability to stay connected, to the community and to the country as a whole. this not

it was forcing the postal service to pay ahead. pay ahead in a 16-year span to be able to pay for their retirement of workers in the up future. now that the internet has taken over, they cannot afford something like that. they would still be in the hole, but it would not be in the hole as much as they were last year. host: we often think of the postal service being in competition with fedex and ups. they waited on this -- weighed in on this, what is there take? guest: they need the postal service because the postal service is the only service that provides a universal service. the last mile delivery. the postal service will go to be far location in alaska or iowa or idaho where ups will not send a truck because it will not make business better. the postal service relies on fedex to help with overseas deliveries. but to send mail to other posts around the world. as much as they may draw business from each other, there is a general sense that fedex and ups need the postal service, especially for those last miles. the postal service n

. >>> and the senate passes a bill that helps stop the bleeding at the postal service. ll ask senator bernie sanders with us tonight what else congress needs to do to save the post office. i've got a few ideas. >>> and paul ryan says his budget was shaped by his catholic faith, but cuts to food programs for the poor has catholic leaders speaking out and protesting in a big way. share your thoughts on twitter using the hashtag "ed show," we're right back. c'mon dad! i'm here to unleash my inner cowboy. instead i got heartburn. [ horse neighs ] hold up partner. prilosec isn't for fast relief. try alka-seltzer. it kills heartburn fast. yeehaw! omnipotent of opportunity. you know how to mix business... with business. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i could get used to this. [ male announcer ] yes, you could business pro. yes, you could. go national. go like a pro. >>> helping more young people, helping more young people afford college sh

. >>> and the senate passes a bill that helps stop the bleeding at the postal service. i'll ask senator bernie sanders with us tonight what else congress needs to do to save the post office. i've got a few ideas. >>> and paul ryan says his budget was shaped by his catholic faith, but cuts to food programs for the poor has catholic leaders speaking out and protesting in a big way. share your thoughts on twitter using the hashtag "ed show," we're right back. >>> helping more young people, helping more young people afford college should be at the forefront of america's agenda and it shouldn't be a republican or a democratic issue. this is an american issue. >> president obama in iowa city, iowa, earlier today, reassuring students that he is on their side as the fight over student loan rates just continues. now, the president has really boxed the gop into a corner here. but here comes senator roy blunt of missouri, laying down the groundwork for the republicans' next move. >> why is that rate as high as it is? because it was one of the pay-fors in the president's health care

. >>> and the senate passes a bill that helps stop the bleeding at the postal service. i'll ask senator bernie sanders with us tonight what else congress needs to do to save the post office. i've got a few ideas. >>> and paul ryan says his budget was shaped by his catholic faith, but cuts to food programs for the poor has catholic leaders speaking out and protesting in a big way. share your thoughts on twitter using the hashtag "ed show," we're right back. but you've never tried it? see the problem here... ♪ dave, i've downloaded a virus. yeah. ♪ dave, where are we on the new laptop? it's so slow! i'm calling dave. [ telephone rings ] [ male announcer ] in a small business, technology is all you. that's why you've got us. at the staples pc savings event, for a limited time get up to $200 off select computers. staples. that was easy. i look fine. just a little trouble with a bargain brand cooking spray. i told you like a gajillion times to use pam. it's 70% better than that bargain stuff. see? look i gotta go. pam helps you like pull it off. >>> helping more young people,

the retirement benefits of postal workers. trick donahoe -- take the post office out of the government federal health care benefits and instead make his own postal service health care benefit program. this lieberman bill would allow him to negotiate that but he is going to have to negotiate it with the unions, who of course aren't going to fight for the benefits of the postal workers. also, this league -- going to fight for the benefit of the postal workers. this lieberman bill would require the same amount of benefits to be offered if they make this a new program. they are going to have to get dental insurance, they will have to get vision insurance. so that is a concern being talked about right now on the hill. and as i said, the unions, who are going to fight tooth and nail to keep the benefits. host: where does the funding from the postal service primarily come from? guest: it comes from the postal service. if they do not see much taxpayer money, if any. i think they receive a couple hundred thousand dollars every year for

the u.s. senate has passed a postal reform bill. it would make it harder to close thousands of low revenue post offices and end saturday mail delivery perhaps in two years. even though the struggling agency says those moves are needed to become profitable again the measure would have a cash infusion of about $11 million to pay off debt. the final vote in the senate 62 to 35. >>> the obama administration it strongly opposes a house bill coming up to defend against attacks and intrusion by foreign governments. in a statement today the administration said the bill fails to ensure that the nation's core critical infrastructure is protected while repealing provisions of electronic surveillance law that concerns for privacy and civil liberty safe guards. the built says the senior advisors would recommend a veto. and finally white house gate crasher says he is going to run for governor of virginia next year. he completed a declaration of candida candidacy. a state board says the agency that oversees cannot accept the declaration until the y

the postal service pays twice for the health care of their retirees. they pay into medicare and they pay into the federal employee health benefit plan. twice. the employees don't get the full benefit of that money. the postal service certainly doesn't get the full benefit of that money. most companies in this country, big companies and small ones, when their employees retire, a lot of times they will continue to provide health care benefits for them until age 65. at age 65, the company will say to the retiree we want you to get your primary medicare, your primary source of health care, and we'll provide a wraparound, a medigap program to fill in the gaps for you. that's how a lot of companies do it. my wife is retired from dupont. when she turns 65 in about another 30 years -- well, maybe not -- maybe a little sooner than that, but when she turns 65, medicare will be her primary source of health care and the company will provide a wraparound or medigap plan. what the postal service would like to do is have a similar kind of opportunity. in the end, i t

we generate our own funding through the sales of postal products. inancial relief to the postal service for overfunding the pension plans and also to allow them to slow down the funding of another over-funded fund, the retiree health care. >> so the postal service can continue to provide service it does? >> that's correct. there are billions of dollars involved in these. >> we will get into that. take your calls at 866-favor 5-press but first: >> this is the full court press. >> on this tuesday, other headlines making news, we will not see president obama pitch for the washington nationals any time soon. the baseball team's manager spoke with radio station wjfk in washington about the game two years ago where the president threw out the first pitch. >> mike rigo said he was warming the president up and was a bit worried with the president's appeal level when asked how the president's arm is. he said, well he is a really great basketball player. his pitch that day did make it to home plate. >> as i recall, it wasn't a great pitch. >> was not a great p

. >>> republicans want to kill the united states postal service. tonight, my commentary on how to save it. >>> good to have you with us. thanks for watching. republicans continue to hammer president obama over gas prices. today the president struck back. he announced a $52 million proposal to con front the wall street speculators that are making every american pay more at the pump. >> i've asked attorney general holder to work with chairman lebowitz, the federal trade commission, chairman ginsler and other enforcement agencies to make sure that acts of manipulation, fraud or other illegal activity or not behind increases in the price that consumers pay at the pump. >> the president's proposal gives more oversight and resource to the commodity futures trading commission. this is the agency tasked with policing the oil and gas markets. president obama explained the problem in simple language. >> chairman had a good analgy, he said imagine if the nf wlrks quadrupled the number of teams but didn't increase the refs. it wouldn't be fair. that's a lot of

we could cover, in a health- care plan owned by the postal service, a billion people. it would be the largest in the u.s. there is no competition in the federal system. if any other company is out there dealing with -- whether is blue cross or united healthcare, they are competing. we think if we get out there and compete, we take at least 10% off the top of what we are spending on health care today. >> you presented this plan to congress at the end of march and it was not very well received on either side of the aisle. do you have confidence you can convince and this is something you should be able to do? >> big changes take time. over the course of time, we have been talking about 6 to 5 day delivery for a few years and there are people who do not know if they want to do it. 80% of americans say do it. let us go. let us make the changes. health care is the same thing here people do not change plans unless there company changes health care plans. you are comfortable with it and you know what your costs are end its gears people when we start saying we are going to chang

nobody denies that the u.s. postal service, really an iconic american institution which millions of people depend on, not just for the mail but for their jobs, both directly working for the postal service and indirectly but not too indirectly because they work for

the senate throws an $11 billion life line to the economically challenged postal service, but the postmaster general says it's not enough. >>> and berry benefit. eating berries appears to keep you sharper as you get older. >>> this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, april 26, 2012. >>> and, good morning, thanks for joining us, i'm michelle miller. we begin with the secret service prostitution scandal and a report that the alleged incident in colombia may not be an isolated case. cbs's seattle station reports an that a secret service advance team went to a strip club in el salvador prior to the president's trip there in march 2011. the source is a u.s. government subcontractor who works with the agents. he alleges the agents took prostitutes back to their hotel room and told him not to worry, they did this all the time. meanwhile on capitol hill, lawmakers are investigating the military's role in the scandal. susan mcginnis in washington with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, michelle. first hearing on this scandal took place here on wenesday and the military's role was a bi

they want to privatize the postal service so their corporate boys down the street here can make more money. they want to destroy union infrastructure. they hate unions any way, shape, or form. because it's a dues thing. and they want to destroy a voting bloc. they want to pit worker against worker. they want to disen franchis dis people. they want to get them out of work and get them upset, so they won't vote for the democrats. and they are on a mission to get rid of any government job they can. but guess what, the number of one group of people hired by the office are military veterans. issa won't tell you that either. i expect this kind of action from republicans, but what bothers me is that democrats, you're not fighting hard enough. you know, you're doing a great job of going after the ryan budget. we're going to help you do that. ly on this show, but you've got to step up and do something big time to save the post office from utter disaster. this is a real opportunity for the democrats to correct a terrible injustice on workers in america. it makes absolutely no sense, and has be

now some unions and lawmakers suspicious of the postal service's motives in redoing the survey claiming they were trying to hide the fact that proposed cut backs would have little or no impact on revenue and many critics say the cuts would drive away more customers. >> today the president signed the so-called jobs act into law it stands for jump start our business start up. it'll make it easier for people raises investor money for new businesses. the reporters say it'll help small businesses avoid red tape and regulations but critics say the law opens the door for fraud and abuse. >> now, harry land's most power of doppler radar and the forecast certified most accurate by weather rate. >> all right. started off with a game day forecast tomorrow, 60 for the first pitch. just past three. looking at a game that, we hope will go the orioles way but also throughout the tailgating early at camden, just bring a layer, bring the sunglasses, bright and sunny. sunny for the most partw. he have clouds in the area. temperature wise we are talking 61 at the airport. we get 62 early their afternoon.

the postal service facing massive cuts in may. n bernanke says the labor and housing markets are showing signs of improvement. that was enough to push us higher yesterday. the nasdaq had a big rally on apple's shares. futures this morning indicating a bit of a higher start. birds just add it to new levels. it was downloaded 20 million times in the first week of release. it is 99 cents a download. at the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king, bloomberg news, for wbal-tv 11 news. back to you. >> a lot of families planning their family vacations. there is something new with plastic bags. >> will have an answer at sea parks.nd other if thetheme you should get more connected on facebook and twitter to find the next travel deal. >> thank you. 52 degrees on tv hill. draft day 2012 is here, the first round. wbal it is helping you get ready. >> don't forget to e-mail us your response to our water cooler question of the day. do you think a school was within its rights to bar a girl from wearing a confederate flag dress, or did they go too f

economy. >> well, clearly, the postal service, has to stream line, has to reform, has to adjust, to a changed marketplace there is no question about that, and therefore, i think we will see a slimmed down, and downsized postal service i think also there have been a lot of very factful answers about the postal service i think need to be examined the idea of cutting back from 6 to 5 days a week puts the postal service at a competitive disadvantage six days a week can be made to be a profitable attribute of the postal service i think the postal service ought to be able to compete, by answering into private partnerships just like european postal services do. 16% of revenue is from non-core missions, congress has decided our postal service can't engage in that. i also think they have to be alleviated, providing 100% prepayment to health care benefits no other entity, on the planet is required to do that except the postal service that is costing them 5, $6 billion extra every year. >>> representative connelly we appreciate you joining us co

or you could use every door direct mail from the postal service. matter most: the ones in the neighborhood. you print it or find a local partner. great. keep it moving honey. honey? that's my wife. wow. there you go. there you go. [ male announcer ] go online to reach every home every address, every time with every door direct mail. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] tough on sweat. ♪ ♪ not on skin. get powerful 48 hour sweat protection plus 1/4 moisturizer technology. only with dove men + care deodorant. >> quarantined at midway. passengers on board a delta flight get a scare when one passenger may have an infectious disease. >> our top story seen around the country tonight. >> it turned out to be something far less serious. bed bugs combined with one traveler's overly worried mother. delta 3163, detroit to midway, a quick uneventful flight that ends with a chilling announcement. >> they said we were being quarantined and there was a passenger on board that may have a communicable disease. >> passengers look up the windows to see their small for -- small plain

that's because the postal service plans to close this facility, as it downsizes to reduce a huge budget deficit. the senate bill would save it. >> we wanted to stay on the eastern shore and keep costs. >> to cut costs, they plan to close 250 processing centers across the country. the senate bill would reduce those closings to 125. leaving the over -- the easton center open. it would also delay the closures of other offices. the justice department is the first class stamp, which requires the postal service to deliver mail overnight to nearby zip codes. >> you know, you're paying a first class price, and you deserve a first class service. your cards, letters, bills, deserved to get there, overnight. especially in the same area. >> reporter: if easton closes, processing for maryland's eastern shore would move to delaware, potentially slowing that service while driving more customers to the postal service's biggest competitor. the internet. alex demetrick, wjz eyewitness news. >> the easton processing center moves its share of mail during the last six months alone. 99 million pieces of mail

our founding fathers recognized the need for a postal service. wever, the increasing popularity of the internet the post office has suffered some heavy blows due to part it could be attributed to the government front load the retirement fund for the postal workers. many individuals throughout the country expressed concerns about the potential post office closing how it could impact this. /♪ >> basic services rendered getting there for people. especially in light of more services. i think about this and the presence of how much money is wasted in war and how we send out like 60 billion. this is not actual expenditures. but in the iraq and afghanistan war. 60 billion as opposed to 2 billion loss over 5 years for the u.s. postal service. >> the more important question is what would happen to the rest of america, the other 99%? particularly rural and small town. does anybody think that you would be able to send a letter from the florida keys to nome, alaska for 44 cents if all of a sudden government wasn't there providing that universal service, a man

how would it change the postal service overall? ioned saturday mailth and that i think is one of the things that people are most curious about. the bill would allow the postal service to end saturday mail after two years. and basically the reason for that is the postal service says they don't have enough mail. they're not delivering enough mail to justify it. >> online and other processes. >> you can pay bills online. send birthday cards online. that's one of the main things. the bill also puts some restrictions in place to protect rural post offices, a lot of people who live in these rural communities are concerned about losing their post offices. it gives the postal service $11 billion that the postal service has sort of overpaid into a federal retirement account. and gives them that money and lets them use that to offer incentives for workers to retire. because their workforce is big. >> paying into the retirement fund is a lot of where the money is going and where a lot of the problem is financially with the postal service now.

. >>> lawmakers in the senate have postponed making any decisions about the future of the postal service. they voted to give the service $11 billion. but delayed decisions on closing some post offices and ending saturday delivery. the bill now goes to the house. >>> a connecticut has become the 17th state to outlaw the death penalty. governor dan malloy signed the bill into law during a ceremony. he said it a moment for, quote, sober reflection. >>> two current tsa agents are under arrest on drug trafficking and bribery charges. they're accused of allowing cocaine and other drugs to pass through their checkpoints at los angeles international airport, all in exchange for cash. prosecutors say the drugs were allowed at least five times last year. all of the suspects face ten years in prison. >>> the prosecution's key witness in the john edwards' trial faces more tough questions today. during cross-examination yesterday, andrew young was asked if he had fallen in love with edwards. lawyers tried to point out the inconsistencies in his testimony. >>> questions thisorning about newt gingrich'

last year the investment firm paid $10 million to settle similar charges in massachusetts. >>> postal workers are rallying against potential cuts to the mail service. workers say if congress does not step in by may 15th the postal service will close 3600 offices, cut 100,000 workers and end saturday delivery. the postal service says it lost more than $5 billion and that number is expected to grow this year. >>> and madonna has ruled the charts for decades. now she's trying to gain an edge at the cosmetics counter. the material girl launched her first fragrance called truth or dare. madonna says the goal was to create a scent that reminds her of her mother. more scents for a woman with lots of cents and dollars. >> take a whiff of that. drew levinson here in new york. thanks, drew. >>> straight ahead, your friday morning weather. and in sports, a water hazard with teeth. >>> here's a look at today's >>> here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country new yo ney, 6w yo7.rk, m3.iami, mostly sunny, 83. thunderstorms, 60. dallas, cloudy, 67. l.a., thunderstorms and 59.