Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) have introduced their version of postal reform legislation, Postal Reform Act of 2013 (S. 1486). The whole bill is here. Carper’s summary is here. The criticisms are already coming in: APWU, NAPUS, and CCAGW.
The Greeting Card Association greets us with its proposals for saving the Postal Service
The Greeting Card Association (GCA) has produced a long report describing what it calls "commonsense solutions" to put the Postal Service on "a path to solvency." It includes more than 100 deficit reduction proposals. The main one is simple: "The Postal Service should immediately implement cluster boxes on a widespread national scale using its existing management authority to do so, and … Read More
Betrayal without remedy: The unwinding of the Postal Service
BY MARK JAMISON The United States Postal Service is not a corporation in the traditional sense of the word, but that hasn’t stopped its leadership — the folks at L’Enfant Plaza and the men and women who sit on the Board of Governors — from viewing it primarily as a corporate entity. The post office is in the Constitution, but that … Read More
Is the plan to end Saturday delivery DOA?
Two things happened yesterday that may have put the nail in the coffin on the Postmaster General’s plan to end Saturday delivery. First, Congress passed an appropriations bill that has a provision maintaining Saturday delivery, just as it’s done every year since 1987. Second, at virtually the same moment, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sent a letter to Congressman Gerald … Read More
Bailout BS: Darrell Issa’s Misinformation Campaign about the Postal Retirement Funds
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Congressman Darrell Issa, has a website entitled “Saving the Postal Service.” According to the website, “H.R. 2309, the Issa-Ross Postal Reform Act, is the only legislation that saves the Postal Service from financial collapse.” Issa would save the Postal Service by dismantling it. His legislation would end Saturday delivery, cut … Read More
An Open Letter to Senator Collins: It’s time for a new vision of the Postal Service
[A few days ago, former postmaster Mark Jamison wrote a letter to Senator Susan Collins of Maine, urging her to exert her influence in Congress to change the direction of the Postal Service before it's too late. Mr. Jamison can be reached at Mij455@gmail.com, and his contributions to Save the Post Office are archived here.—Ed.] Dear Senator Collins: I am … Read More
In Dubious Battle: The Postal Service, Congress, and Verizon go at it
Congress and the Postal Service are locked in a brutal face-off, with the future of the post office at stake. An angry Congressman writes the Postmaster General accusing postal officials of uttering falsehoods. The Postal Service defends itself by blaming an Internet provider. No, we’re not talking about Darrell Issa, postal D-day, the historic default on the $5.6 billion payment … Read More
Connolly and Young Call on Congress to Develop 21st Century USPS Business Model
PRESS RELEASE More than 100 Members of Congress sign letter in support of 6 Day Mail, Rural Post Offices, Innovation Washington, D.C. –Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly was joined by more than 100 members of Congress in calling on Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to maintain robust mail service, including 6 day delivery and rural post offices, and … Read More
“We must not be rushed into false choices”: Two Congressmen call for sanity
The leaders of the Postal Service are in a big hurry to dismantle the postal system, and there are plenty of people in Congress ready to help. Fortunately, there are a few lawmakers who recognize the value of a robust Postal Service, and they don’t want to be rushed into making false choices. Earlier this week, two of the saner … Read More
Congressman Hinchey calls for a moratorium on the closing studies
New York Congressman Maurice Hinchey has written a letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe asking him “to place a moratorium on the USPS's current discontinuance studies until the USPS resolves the numerous problems the PRC identified in the RAIO. “ Hinchey is circulating the letter in Congress, looking for others to sign on with him. The letter calls attention to … Read More
Bad News Comes in Threes: How Congress, Industry, and Management Have Made a Mess Out of Things
By Mark Jamison [The author is a postmaster for the USPS. In keeping with the USPS Administrative Support Manual, section 363, Mr. Jamison does not "speak for or act on behalf of the Postal Service." His comments represent his personal views and observations based on 28 years of service, and they are intended for no other purpose than to expand … Read More
Moving toward the End-Game: A moratorium maybe, a Goldway dissent, a PMG promise to hold off on closing post offices and DUOs too
A moratorium on post office closings came a step closer today, the Postmaster General has apparently promised to hold off on closing post offices until the first of the year, and the Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission dissented on an appeals decision again. A big day in postal world (and don't even mention the stock market). Earlier in the … Read More
Preserving the People’s Post Office: Nader writes Congress
Remember Nader's Raiders, the group of young activists who went to Washington in the 60s and 70s (and beyond) to work with Ralph Nader in his fight for consumer protection, a clean environment, and accountable government? Among the hundreds of publications that came out of Nader's Center for Responsive Law are two of the best books written about the post office … Read More
King can’t get no respect: The USPS stonewalls to run out the consolidation clock
If you’ve had a chance to read Craig O'Donnell’s “They’re Coming for Your Post Office,” the story of his efforts to save his post office in Still Pond, Maryland, you know how frustrating it can be trying to get documents from the Postal Service when you’re fighting a closure. The Postal Service is supposed to share the documents because citizens … Read More
Talk about wanting to close a lot of post offices
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has introduced a bill, H.R. 2309, to reform the Postal Service. Among other things, it would create a Commission on Postal Reorganization “to review postal infrastructure and recommend closures and consolidations to Congress, that will ultimately save the Postal Service at least $2 billion a … Read More
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