Mailer groups praised the work of the President’s Commission on the U.S. Postal Service -- which issued its 208-page final report on Thursday -- and hoped the panel’s recommendations would quickly go to Congress for legislative action.
"The Commission's report is a good blueprint for how the USPS can survive over the next 10 to 15 years," said Gene Del Polito, president of the Association for Postal Commerce.
Bob McLean, executive director of the Mailers Council, hoped the report would become proposals in Congress by as early as September and said his group would work vigorously to get them acted on.
"We’re having a meeting in early August about this," he said.
"We are pleased that many aspects of the Commission's report reflect suggestions we made," said Direct Marketing Association senior vice president Jerry Cerasale in a statement. "Not everyone will agree on every specific recommendation, but we are eager to work with all parties involved to resolve our differences in order to secure meaningful and necessary reforms as quickly as possible.
The final report essentially contains the recommendations the Commission made during the past two weeks. The Commission called for loosening restrictions on the USPS and allowing it greater latitude in negotiating agreements with mailers, as well as severely cutting its expenses so that it can remain solvent and avoid taxpayer bailouts or prohibitive rate increases.
"We are deeply grateful to President Bush for creating an expert Commission to examine the future of the U.S. Postal Service and the American postal system," said Michael J. Critelli, chairman of the Mailing Industry CEO Council and CEO of Pitney Bowes. "The Commission agreed with the CEO Council that private sector partnerships, work sharing and outsourcing produce the most cost-effective postal system and that USPS-industry collaboration should be maximized to drive innovation and to benefit all users of mail services."
"With strong management and employee performance sound partnerships and sophisticated technologies, the Commission is confident that the Postal Service can dramatically reduce its costs and stabilize its bottom line," said the report.
But the panel also warned that "the biggest threat today is being too timid on the area of postal modernization and gambling with the future of affordable universal mail service in the process."
Late last year, President Bush has created this commission to explore the USPS's mission and operations and to study its role in the 21st century (Direct Newsline, Dec. 11, 2002).
