The U.S. Postal Service's Board of Governors sent a letter Friday to Rep. John McHugh, R-NY, the former chairman of the House postal subcommittee, urging him to pay attention to postal reform.
The letter, which was signed by all nine presidentially appointed governors, opened by stating, “We wish to call to your attention a situation [that], if not addressed shortly, will begin to have a significant and negative impact on the economy of the United States.”
The letter asked McHugh to devote his “attention and resources necessary to implement a comprehensive review and overhaul of the postal laws of the United States.”
The governors said the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 “puts at serious risk our ability to provide consistent and satisfactory levels of universal service to the American people.”
The letter continued, “We see alarming trends that seriously threaten the future of America's mail service. The conditions which provided steady growth in mail volumes and revenues and which enabled the infrastructure improvements necessary over the past 30 years are changing rapidly.”
Finally, the letter said, “Without change to our regulatory framework, universal service will be difficult to maintain. We foresee rapidly rising rates and reduced service if legislative reform is not enacted promptly.”
In related news, a bipartisan, House-Senate postal caucus was formed last week as a way to keep the issue of postal reform alive. Dan Burton, R-IN, chairman of the Committee on Government Reform, dissolved the postal subcommittee this year.
The caucus, which was formed to bring postal issues into greater focus on Capitol Hill, includes Rep. Danny Davis, D-IL, and Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-HI, who will serve as officers; and Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-CA. The caucus has also invited Rep. John McHugh, R-NY, and others to join the coalition.
In addition, Waxman reportedly plans to introduce legislation during this session of Congress calling for a presidential commission on postal reform.
