Postal Innovation Act introduced in Congress
Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Jared Huffman have introduced the Postal Innovation Act in the US Congress. As previously reported, Senator Cory Booker introduced similar legislation in the US Senate on 24 July. Representatives Blumenauer and Huffman introduced their bill in Congress on Wednesday (29 July).
In a joint statement, the Congressmen said that the Postal Innovation Act aims to “create a framework that will modernize the United States Postal Service (USPS) to address its growing financial problems and ensure it remains a cornerstone of the American community”.
The bill has a strong focus on bringing USPS vehicles in line with environmental and safety standards, but it also includes “innovative” proposals on how the postal service can generate revenue from new services, and drive down costs.
According to Representative Blumenauer: “This legislation will give the Postal Service flexibility to offer services above and beyond mail delivery – simple banking services and Internet connectivity, to name a few.”
Representative Huffman echoed the sentiment: “Our bill allows the U.S. Postal Service the freedom to expand their business model and add new services, helping them increase revenues and reach financial stability.”
One of the proposals put forward by the Postal Innovation Act would be to allow USPS “to ship beer, wine, and spirits”. This dovetails neatly with The USPS Shipping Equity Act, which also seeks to overturn the century-long prohibition on sending alcoholic beverates through the US post. Representative Jackie Speier, who first introduced the bill in the 2013 session, issued a statement on Thursday (30 July) saying: “It’s ridiculous that we’re allowing UPS, FedEx, and other companies to ship spirits, wine, and beer to consumers, while banning the U.S. Postal Service from doing the exact same thing.”
