Pitney Bowes – Chairman & CEO Interview
BECKY QUICK, CNBC ANCHOR: Next year is looking a whole lot greener for the U.S. Postal Service. An overhaul bill passed through the Senate over this last weekend. And that is set to relieve the Postal Service of billions of dollars in retirement expenses and keep the cost of postage down. Of course, the president still needs to give his stamp of approval on this whole thing. So let`s get into what is at stake for business with Michael Critelli. He is the chairman and CEO of Pitney Bowes.Michael, thanks for being with us today.
MICHAEL CRITELLI, CHMN. CEO, PITNEY BOWES: You are very welcome, Becky.
QUICK: You know, we have heard a lot about this bill that is out there. What is it actually? What would it do? And what does it mean for business?
CRITELLI: Well, you know, we are in a USD900 billion industry that employs 10 million Americans. It stabilizes the Postal Service financially by fixing and funding its retirement obligations. It sets an annual cap on price increases of the CPI, the consumer price index. And it gives the Postal Service the same ability that we are used to with utilities, airlines and other people, promotional rates, off-peak rates, discounts for other benefits to promote the use of mail, all of that that is now possible, that just wasn`t possible under the old law. And that will start to go into effect in 2008.
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