USPS Press Release

First major change to the Postal Service since 1971

pictured at left President Bush, Postmaster General Jack Potter, Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), USPS Board of Governors Chairman James Miller, Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), and Rep. John McHugh, (R-NY).
 
WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush today signed into law new postal legislation that will benefit both residential and business customers by ensuring predictable price increases tied to the rate of inflation.

The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act is the first major change to the Postal Service since 1971. The law enables the organization to continue its transformation efforts and cost-cutting measures.  

“This new law could not have come at a better time. The Postal Service has never been stronger and this law enables us to build on our successes,” said Postmaster General John E. Potter who attended today’s White House signing ceremony. The Postal Service has ended a fourth consecutive year with positive retained earnings, a seventh consecutive year of improved productivity, and has benefited from record service and customer satisfaction scores that are independently measured. 

This is the culmination of a 12-year effort by Congress to secure changes to the laws governing the Postal Service. It will link future rate increases to the Consumer Price Index and give the Postal Service more flexibility for pricing competitive products. The Act also reconstitutes the existing Postal Rate Commission into a regulatory body with greater authority and responsibility.  The current rate case under consideration will proceed as scheduled. The Postal Service will be able to file one last rate case under the current rules. 

The new law directs the Department of the Treasury to resume the funding of military pensions for postal employees and abolishes a federally mandated escrow requirement directing those monies to pre-fund retiree health benefits. Potter said, “Over the next decade, these changes will free the Postal Service of future legacy costs. We are now on firm financial footing for the future.”