On November 16, 2016, Senator Claire McCaskill was named the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. She will work with Republican Senator Ron Johnson who is Chairman of that committee. Senator McCaskill has been a long-time advocate for postal service in rural communities, and in 2016 sponsored a bill that outlines procedures…
On October 20, 2016 Sen. Heitkamp called on Postmaster General Megan Brennan to protect the mail service in Amidon and Halliday, North Dakota. The Halliday facility is being closed due to unsafe conditions found in the post office. Sen. Heitkamp is asking the US Postal Service to take two steps. First she asks that…
On September 28, 2016, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) introduced Senate Bill 3452 (“S. 3452”), titled the “Post Office Discontinuance Accountability Act of 2016.” The Bill is co-sponsored by Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The Bill has been introduced late in the legislative session and will die if it is not passed into law by January 3, 2017. However, it can in such a case be re-introduced in the new Congress next year.
The objective of the Bill is to establish procedures governing “emergency suspensions” of Post Offices by the USPS. Under the Bill, emergency suspensions are defined to be:
[t]emporary discontinuance of a post office without following discontinuance procedures for the post office, because of (1) a natural disaster, (2) the early, sudden, or unexpected termination of a lease or rental agreement by the lessor when suitable alternate quarters are not immediately available in the same community, (3) lack of qualified personnel to operate the post office, (4) severe or irreparable damage to or destruction of, the post office when suitable alternate quarters are not immediately available in the community, (5) a challenge to the sanctity of the mail, or (6) a lack of adequate measures to safeguard the post office or its revenues. [Italics added.]
It is significant that S. 3452 does not define the term “emergency suspension” to include the expiration of a long term lease at the end of its term, as such an expiration can clearly be anticipated by both the USPS and the lessor. Because the USPS has in the past attempted to establish regulations which would allow it to treat normal lease expiration as an emergency suspension, AUSPL has long argued that the term should be limited to situations which are true “emergencies,” using the plain meaning of the word. S. 3452 would clarify that question in a meaningful way for postal lessors.
On October 12, 2016 the US Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of a price increase for letters. Rates would be raised from $.47 to $.49 for a 1 oz. letter. The price increase is scheduled to take effect on January 22, 2017. The price of additional ounces, letters to international…
In August the US Postal Service announced third quarter results for the period ending 6-30-2016. Despite an operating revenue increase of $1.2 billion over the same quarter in 2015, there was a net loss of $1.6 billion.
Shipping and package volumes increased by $645 million or 18.1%. However, delivering a package involves considerable additional processing expense as compared to delivering First Class Mail. Those expenses include labor hours and transportation. According to the USPS’s Form 10-Q submitted to the Postal Regulatory Commission, “For 2015, Shipping and Packages revenues would have needed to increase by 260% in order to make up for the impact of the contribution provided by the volume losses of First-Class Mail for that year . . .”
In January of 2015 the United States Postal Service began the process of searching for the designers and manufacturer of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV). Following the initial announcement 15 suppliers were selected to submit proposals to develop prototypes. On September 17, the USPS announced the next phase of the process, with the selection…
The US Postal Service has announced a selection of new stamps for 2017. The subjects of the stamps include John F. Kennedy, Flowers from the Garden, Uncle Sam’s Hat, and Sharks, along with several others. May-Anne Penner, U.S. Postal Service Stamp Services Executive Director says “Stamps are miniature works of art that tell America’s…
As part of its effort to replace the aging Long Life Vehicles, the US Postal Service has started taking delivery on a second order of vans from FCA. The entire order of 3,369 vans will be completed by the end of November.
Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) recent amendment to House Appropriations Bill H.R. 5485 would require the US Postal Service to maintain and comply with July 2012 service standards for First Class Mail and periodicals. In order to decrease expenses, the US Postal Service has recently lowered mail service standards. Since the lower standards have been in…
H.R. 5714, Postal Service Reform Act of 2016, was introduced in the House of Representatives on July 11 and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and to the House Ways and Means Committee for budget scoring. On July 12 the Oversight Committee issued a report to the full chamber recommending that the bill be considered further.