Dem opposed spending bill due to Postal Service policies

Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) said Friday he voted against a government spending bill last month partly because it wouldn’t prevent the U.S. Postal Service from closing more mail facilities.

“USPS is vital to our region, providing quality mail service to our rural district and creating many good-paying, middle class jobs,” Nolan wrote on Facebook.

{mosads}Nolan argued that Congress should instead overhaul the USPS retiree benefit program.

“Our focus should be on the real problem: The unnecessary federal requirement to put $5 billion away per year for future retiree benefits. The fact is, this requirement is no longer necessary and USPS would have turned an enormous profit last year without it,” Nolan said.

Nolan’s original statement against the spending measure, which funds most of the federal government through September 2015, didn’t mention the Postal Service. The Minnesota Democrat instead highlighted provisions to roll back the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial overhaul, increase limits on campaign contributions and maintain funding for wars in the Middle East.