Postmaster General John Potter appealed to Congress to provide anti-terrorism funds the Bush administration failed to include in its budget for next year. Potter asked for USD779 million to help the agency buy and install systems to detect biological agents and poisons, and new ventilation and filtration systems, in 282 mail handling centers across the country.
Read MoreIn a letter to Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins reported 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 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 USD900 billion mailing industry that employs nine million Americans in diverse fields. “There is no question about the need for postal reform,” Collins said. As the comptroller general has confirmed to me, Congress must act or risk disaster.”
Read MoreThe Postmaster General of the United States, Mr. John Potter has reportedly pledged the United Sates Postal Services “firm and practical” commitment to providing support in the area of equipment and training for the revitalization of Liberia’s Postal network.
Read MoreThe U.S. Postal Service has proposed requiring larger-sized mailbox systems in new apartment and business buildings to alleviate rising levels of undeliverable mail. “Today’s small apartment boxes are not large enough to accept today’s larger-shaped mail,” said Jeffery Lewis, USPS program manager, apartment box standardization. “Our delivery confirmation data reflects that 30 percent more mail is undeliverable to apartments than to a regular household. Nationally, the average is 7.5 percent. In high-density metropolitan areas the undeliverable rate is 10 percent.” The existing apartment mailbox standard of 5 inches by 6 inches by 15 inches has been in effect since 1975 despite a rise in volume for flat mail and packages.
Read MoreThe U.S. Postal Service is in “financial and systemic distress,” a coalition of mailers said in a letter delivered to four members of the House of Representatives.
“True postal reform can be achieved only through a comprehensive set of measures … that address the difficult, yet crucial, issues of cost control and regulatory oversight,” said Robert Walker, head of Postal Reform in the Public Interest and one of nine members of the President’s Commission on the U.S. Postal Service last year, in the letter.
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