The U.S. Senate soon will likely debate the 21st Century Postal Reform Act (S. 1789), a deeply flawed bill designed to 'save" the U.S. Postal Service by downsizing it dramatically.

Businesses in Missouri that rely on Saturday delivery and on their local post offices to operate successfully in today's "24/7" business environment will be among those most hurt. At particular risk are Missouri's 491,000 small businesses, which employ approximately 1.1 million people. Undercut the Postal Service, and you'll damage small businesses, which create two-thirds of all new jobs. Nationally, a $1.3 trillion mailing industry supporting 7.5 million private-sector jobs is directly dependent on strong postal operations. And rural communities, the elderly and millions without reliable Internet service need access to a strong postal network that connects all Americans — from Missouri to Alaska.

Given the high stakes for real people, Congress needs to get this right. But at its core, the current bill blames the Internet and poor management for the Postal Service's financial losses. That's wrong, and the legislation's mandates would do nothing to restore the USPS to profitability. Rather, it is likely to sacrifice quality service and American jobs, and result in a degraded postal service.

The legislation as written will drive mail out of the postal system, thereby reducing revenue and requiring yet further cuts to service. The Postal Service receives no tax money to support its operations, and cuts in service amount to a cost increase on the public. For example, Missourians needing Saturday service will be forced to turn to expensive private carriers to fill the void.

As president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, I understand the budgetary and market challenges facing the USPS. However, these issues don't result from an outdated organization. Despite the economic problems our country has confronted for the last several years, the Postal Service has done quite well. In fiscal years 2007-10, it had an operational profit of $611 million delivering the mail, and customer satisfaction and on-time delivery are at record highs.

Why, then, has the media been dominated by articles claiming that the USPS is facing imminent bankruptcy? To answer that, we must look back to where we began: Congress. In the last five years, the Postal Service has been forced to pay $21 billion to satisfy a 2006 congressional mandate requiring it to pre-fund, within 10 years, most future retiree health benefits over the next 75 years. The USPS is the only public agency or private firm required to do so, and this mandate accounts for more than 80 percent of the organization's red ink since 2007.

Although this bill would reduce the level of retiree health pre-funding, it would not solve the problem. The USPS would remain the only enterprise in America facing such a heavy mandate. The annual cost of pre-funding under the new law would still impose significant debt on the Postal Service and would result in needless cuts to service. In essence, too many members of Congress have been more focused on paying retiree medical bills 50 or 75 years from now than on preserving high-quality, door-to-door, six-days-a-week mail service for the American people and the businesses that employ them.

Instead, Congress should require pre-funding only when the Postal Service is profitable, or repeal the pre-funding mandate altogether. The USPS has already set aside more funds for future retiree health benefits than any company in America, and it makes no sense to force the organization to pre-fund even more, when the entire system is at risk because of pre-funding.

Rather than phasing out door-to-door delivery for 35 million households and businesses and hastening the end of Saturday delivery, Congress should focus on adding back into the legislation a constructive proposal to help the Postal Service control health care costs, which was struck from the bill in committee. Measures that result in a lower level of service are unnecessary and, in fact, counterproductive.

Unless S. 1789 is dramatically restructured, it will not save America's postal network. Rather, it will threaten the survival of a venerable institution based on the Constitution, which would upset the livelihoods of the people, communities and businesses throughout Missouri that depend on a strong, reliable service. Instead of enacting shortsighted, destructive policies, Congress should remove this unnecessary pre-funding burden and work with all the parties affected by these decisions to identify real solutions to re-invent the Postal Service for the 21st century.

Fredric V. Rolando is the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers.