GAO: Comprehensive Postal Reform ‘Urgently Needed’
In a letter to Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME), the General Accounting Office (GAO) Thursday agreed with her assessment that comprehensive –not incremental — postal reform is needed to ensure the US Postal Service’s future viability.
Senator Collins’ committee, which has jurisdiction over the USPS, has been leading the drive for postal reform, and she plans to introduce bipartisan reform legislation with Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) later this year.
During several Governmental Affairs Committee hearings on postal reform, Collins has pointed out the important role the USPS plays in the US economy. The USPS is the 11th largest enterprise in the nation and accounts for nearly 9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. It also employs more than 730,000 career employees, and is the linchpin of a $900 billion mailing industry that employs nine million Americans in diverse fields.
“There is no question about the need for postal reform,” Collins said. “Companies across the nation — and their employees — count on the Postal Service’s affordable rates and universal access for their survival. As the comptroller general has confirmed to me, Congress must act or risk disaster.”
In his letter to Collins, GAO Comptroller General David Walker wrote, “Comprehensive postal reform is urgently needed. The ability of the service to remain financially viable is at risk because its current business model — which relies on mail volume growth to cover the costs of its expanding delivery network — is not well aligned with 21st century realities.
“We do not believe that incremental steps toward postal transformation can resolve the fundamental and systemic issues associated with the Service’s current business model. To avoid the risk of a significant taxpayer bailout or dramatic postal rate increases, we believe that Congress should enact comprehensive postal reform that includes the Service’s overall statutory framework, resolution of issues regarding the Service’s pension and retiree health benefits obligations, and whether there is a continued need for an escrow account.”
