Health & Fitness
SNN reports on Union Square & Rep. Capuano comments on the Post Office
Somerville Neighborhood News reports on...Union Square: Capuano on the Post Office & A glimpse at the Somerville Redevelopment Authority's meetings. Read the full story and watch the news segment.
SNN reports on Union Square
Rep. Capuano on the Post Office & A glimpse at the Somerville Redevelopment Authority’s meetingsMarch 25, 2014 – When it comes to the sale of the Union Square Post Office, Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-MA) had two things to say. First, he noted that the sale is the result of what he feels was needless congressional strong-arming. A 2006 law forces the U.S. Postal Service to fully fund its pension system.
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“The whole pension thing is what’s causing the post office to have a loss,” Capuano told the Somerville Neighborhood News. “I didn’t vote for it but Congress passed a law five, six, seven years ago I think, that said that the post office has to fully fund it’s pension plan now. And that’s insane!”
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Few businesses or other government programs fully fund their pensions today, although many are “slowly working their way” towards that, the congressman said.
“By forcing them to address it in an inappropriately short period of time, they are causing them to look like they are losing money,” he added.
Capuano also noted that he hoped Somerville residents would weigh in on the post office sale, "the opening salvo" of the Union Square overhaul.
The Somerville Redevelopment Authority and other bodies are currently debating the pros and cons of the nine firms vying to be “master developer” of the neighborhood, which includes six parcels the City may take by eminent domain.
Somerville Neighborhood News
