U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

61–702 cc WASHINGTON : 2000

S. Hrg. 106–480

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE POSTMASTER GENERAL

HEARING

BEFORE THE

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY, PROLIFERATION, AND

FEDERAL SERVICES SUBCOMMITTEE

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

SEPTEMBER 16, 1999

Printed for the use of the Committee on Governmental Affairs

(

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office

U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402

(II)

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

FRED THOMPSON, Tennessee, Chairman

WILLIAM V. ROTH, Jr., Delaware

TED STEVENS, Alaska

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine

GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio

PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi

ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania

JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire

JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut

CARL LEVIN, Michigan

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois

ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey

MAX CLELAND, Georgia

JOHN EDWARDS, North Carolina

HANNAH S. SISTARE, Staff Director and Counsel

JOYCE A. RECHTSCHAFFEN, Minority Staff Director and Counsel

DARLA D. CASSELL, Administrive Clerk

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY, PROLIFERATION, AND FEDERAL SERVICES

SUBCOMMITTEE

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi, Chairman

TED STEVENS, Alaska

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine

PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico

ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania

JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii

CARL LEVIN, Michigan

ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey

MAX CLELAND, Georgia

JOHN EDWARDS, North Carolina

MITCHEL B. KUGLER, Staff Director

RICHARD J. KESSLER, Minority Staff Director

JULIE A. SANDER, Chief Clerk

(III)

C O N T E N T S

Opening statements: Page

Senator Cochran ............................................................................................... 1

Senator Stevens ................................................................................................ 2

Senator Akaka .................................................................................................. 3

Senator Domenici ............................................................................................. 9

Senator Levin .................................................................................................... 11

WITNESSES

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1999

William J. Henderson, Postmaster General, U.S. Postal Service

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 4

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 5

APPENDIX

Letter from William J. Henderson, to Senator Levin, dated June 15, 1999 ....... 13

Brochure entitled ‘‘The First Green Post Office,’’ Fort Worth, Texas ................. 21

Letter from William J. Henderson, to Senator Domenici, dated October 26,

1999 ....................................................................................................................... 23

The information entitled ‘‘Domestic Mail Manual,’’ section E670 supplied for

the record .............................................................................................................. 24

Questions and responses for Mr. Henderson from:

Senator Akaka .................................................................................................. 34

Senator Collins ................................................................................................. 36

Senator Lieberman ........................................................................................... 37

Senator Cleland ................................................................................................ 38

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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE POSTMASTER

GENERAL

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1999

U.S. SENATE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL SECURITY, PROLIFERATION, AND FEDERAL SERVICES, OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, Washington, DC.

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:05 p.m. in room

628, Senate Dirksen Building, Hon. Thad Cochran (Chairman of

the Subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Senators Cochran, Akaka, Levin, Stevens, and Domenici.

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR COCHRAN

Senator COCHRAN. The Subcommittee will please come to order.

I was apologizing to the Postmaster General on the condition of

the weather outside. As a matter of fact, this morning, as I was

preparing to come in to the Capitol, I thought about the inscription

that is supposedly written on the General Post Office in the City

of New York, and I couldn’t remember it exactly. Neither could my

wife, so we spent a little time doing some research.

For the general edification of those here, the quote is as follows:

‘‘Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these

couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.’’

We further investigated the source of that, and it is Herodotus’

history, volume number 8, and he is referring to the couriers of

Xerxes. And for those of you who want to know who or what Xerxes

might be, he was King or Emperor of Persia.

Now that we are all well grounded—— [Laughter.]

In the subject of today’s hearing, I want to welcome the distinguished Postmaster General of the United States, who is here

today to deliver his annual report to the Congress.

When the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 was passed, we converted, by that act, the Post Office Department from a Federal

Government department, depending upon substantial subsidies

from U.S. taxpayers, to an independently-managed U.S. Postal

Service. Since that time it has become a very large and modern enterprise, with almost 800,000 employees and more than $60 billion

in annual revenues.

In May of last year, William J. Henderson was appointed to

serve as U.S. Postmaster General, having served several years as

the agency’s Chief Operating Officer.

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With the rapid development of technology, the question of what

role the Postal Service will play in e-commerce has become the

topic of much discussion within the Postal Service and the postal

community. The Postal Service recently introduced a new website

to assist businesses using Priority Mail to ship products ordered

over the Internet, and last month the Postal Service introduced a

new product called ‘‘PC Postage’’ which allows customers to print

digital stamps from their personal computers.

It will be interesting to hear the Postmaster General bring us up

to date on these and other developments in the Postal Service.

We welcome you, Mr. Postmaster General, and we look forward

to your report.

Before hearing your report, I am going to yield now to our distinguished colleagues on the panel—first, if the distinguished Senator

from Hawaii will permit me, to Senator Stevens, who is chairing

the Appropriations Committee in a markup that meets in 10 minutes, for whatever comments he would make, and then to our distinguished Ranking Minority Member, Senator Akaka.

Senator Stevens.

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR STEVENS

Senator STEVENS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank

you, Senator Akaka.

Mr. Postmaster General, I have just told my colleagues that I

think this is the 31st year that I have listened to this report, and

it will be the first time that I will have left it before it is completed.

I am sorry that we do have this conflict with the Appropriations

Committee and the VA/HUD bill, which we have to get to this

afternoon.

I ask unanimous consent that my statement appear in the record

in full.

Senator COCHRAN. Without objection, so ordered.

[The prepared statement of Senator Stevens follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SENATOR STEVENS

Thank you Postmaster General Henderson for appearing before this Subcommittee today and for your comments about the progress of the Postal Service.

I also want to thank you publicly for visiting Alaska this past March for the dedication of the Arctic Animal Stamps. I often say that our true friends are the ones who

come to Alaska in the winter months.

The Postal Service is the lifeline of Alaska—many of my colleagues who have visited my home State witnessed this first-hand. The bypass mail system delivers food

and other personal items at a fraction of the cost of regular freight. There are many

remote areas who do not yet have access to the Internet and their television and

radio reception is very limited. For the residents of those areas, the U.S. Mail is

the most reliable form of communication.

I commend you for the Postal Service’s recent arrangement in Alaska for the new

fuel cell system at the Anchorage Mail Processing Center. As you know, the new

fuel cell will be the primary source of power for the Anchorage facility—producing

one megawatt of electricity—while producing virtually no pollution. This power system not only ensures the continued success of the Postal Service in Alaska, but it

represents a form of power that could revolutionize cost-effective electricity throughout America.

Congratulations on your fifth straight fiscal year of positive net income and for

your achievements in high delivery rates. However, I am concerned that while the

Postal Service modernizes and improves the traditional mail system, it could miss

out or fall behind in the e-revolution. I note your recent projections that increased

use of the Internet for business traditionally done through the mail could cost you

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nearly $17 billion. I urge the Postal Service, through your leadership and direction,

to fully embrace e-commerce and all of its capabilities so that the Postal Service remains strong in the new millennium. I note that the Postal Service has partially

embraced e-commerce by allowing private companies to develop and sell postage

over the Internet. I am eager to see the results of this technology as information

is made available.

Last, I sit on the Special Committee on the Y2K problem and we receive regular

reports on the progress of vital services with respect to the Y2K bug. You may recall

that I asked you last year about the Postal Service’s efforts in fixing this problem

and would like to hear about your progress over the past year.

Thank you again for appearing today and for all that the Postal Service does in

Alaska and throughout the United States.

Senator STEVENS. I think everyone should realize that this is the

fifth straight fiscal year of positive income for the Postal Service,

and on your watch it has gone up, so I congratulate you.

I will tell you, Mr. Chairman, and I often tell others, about the

time Postmaster Bolger came to Alaska with me; he wanted to see

what the winters were like, and I took him up to Prudhoe Bay. As

he got off the plane, we had the bus right there so that he could

get right on the bus, and we went over to the postal substation,

which is what I think we had there at the time. As we opened up

the door, there was a digital thermometer there, and it said minus

99. [Laughter.]

I never had the heart to tell him that that was as far down as

it would go. [Laughter.]

It was a wind chill factor thermometer, and the wind chill was

lower than 100 below. And that Post Office was open; that’s my

point. The Post Office does keep up with and match that motto

today, and I think Mr. Henderson is an excellent example of a person who is really managing this Postal Service of ours very well.

You have some tremendous challenges now, with the Internet

and the whole concept of the global economy, but I am proud to say

that I think the Postal Service is staying ahead of the curve.

So thank you very much, and I look forward to reading your report, Bill.

Senator COCHRAN. Thank you very much, Senator Stevens.

Senator Akaka.

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR AKAKA

Senator AKAKA. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I am

pleased to join you in welcoming Postmaster General Henderson to

our hearing. I met with Mr. Henderson earlier this year and came

away from that discussion with a renewed appreciation of the U.S.

Postal Service—not only for its accomplishments, but for the challenges it faces in the future.

We cannot escape the many news reports and articles on today’s

rapidly changing business climate. Not only has the Internet

opened up a global marketplace for American products, but it has

also created a growing need to deliver the packages generated by

e-commerce. I know the Postal Service is thoroughly analyzing all

aspects of its operations and management in order to remain a key

player in this arena. Competing delivery systems, domestic and

international, have also resulted in the review of products.

I understand that the need to develop new revenue sources while

maintaining increased service levels is one of the reasons that the

Postal Service supports the McHugh postal reform bill. Should

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postal reform legislation be referred to the Senate, I hope our Subcommittee will have ample opportunity to review these issues.

On a more personal note, I would also like to express my continued strong support for a U.S. postage stamp to honor Duke

Kahanamoku, a five-time Olympic medal winner, the father of

modern surfing, and Hawaii’s best-known citizen. Although Duke

Kahanamoku passed away in 1968, his spirit continues to embody

all Hawaii, and even part of the mainland. And I will tell you that

if Senator Stevens were here he would certainly support me, because he is an avid surfer. [Laughter.]

A commemorative stamp celebrating the life of one of my State’s

most respected citizens will be welcomed not only by the people of

Hawaii, but by sports enthusiasts worldwide. I supported this effort for a long time, and I appreciate knowing that a proposed

stamp is under serious consideration by the Citizen Stamp Advisory Committee.

The time has come to honor the Duke, who holds a place unequal

to any other person in surfing history, and whose Olympic skills

are legend in Hawaii and in our country.

Like Senator Cochran, I look forward, Mr. Postmaster General,

to your testimony, and your presence here is certainly welcome.

Senator COCHRAN. Postmaster General Henderson, you may proceed.

STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM J. HENDERSON, POSTMASTER

GENERAL, U.S. POSTAL SERVICE

Mr. HENDERSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Rather than read

my testimony back to you—I know you have already reviewed it—

I will just touch some of the highlights from a personal perspective

about the Postal Service.

First let me thank you for sponsoring the Senate Resolution designating October as Stamp Collecting Month. That is a great

hobby; it’s a great family hobby, one of the largest hobbies in the

world, and it does give national recognition to something that is

very important. And as a result of your action, there have been resolutions passed all across this great Nation supporting stamp collecting, so I thank you for that.

The bottom line, the U.S. Postal Service is concluding another excellent year. We will have a net income this fiscal year, as we predicted, in spite of the fact that our revenues fell about $700 million

short of what we had planned. The revenue shortfall is, in essence,

the result of, one, aggressive planning; and two, the impact of the

sweepstakes issue on the country, the fact that people stopped responding to sweepstakes for a period of time, and that impacted

our volume. Also, the rate increase has some impact on our volume.

But in spite of that $700 million, we are still going to reach our

predicted net income.

The most interesting aspect about being in the Postal Service

today is not only the competition it receives, but also the effect of

the Internet and how that is changing the marketplace very rapidly. The Internet seems to be knocking profits out of commodities

at a very rapid pace; therefore, when people look for shippers, they

look for low-cost, high-quality shippers. And if you buy a CD from

AMAZON.COM for $6, you’re not going to pay $7 to have it delivVerDate 11-SEP-98 10:46 May 12, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 61702.TXT SAFFAIRS PsN: SAFFAIRS
5

ered. So the Postal Service has benefited from its high quality and

is taking advantage of the Internet, and I think it will prosper as

long as it maintains low costs and high quality.

So we see a bright future for our organization, and we continue

to be very aggressive in the marketplace, making sure that Americans have the kind of choice that the U.S. Postal Service represents, and that is high quality and low cost.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Henderson follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MR. HENDERSON

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I welcome the opportunity to

discuss the U.S. Postal Service with you today. I appreciate the time and energy

you invest in oversight and helping us fulfill our mission to bind our Nation together by delivering to everyone, everywhere, every day.

Today, I want to talk with you about the performance of the Postal Service as

we near the end of this century and our plans as we look forward to the next.

In 1999, the Postal Service has put the finishing touches on what has been a decade of progress.

When the decade opened, the Postal Service had just begun independently measuring First-Class Mail service performance in metropolitan areas. By 1992, when

the first overnight results were announced, only two out of 86 locations broke 90

percent and the national score was just a notch above 84 percent.

Today, even though we have expanded our measurements to represent more than

80 percent of our First-Class delivery volumes, every single location in the contiguous United States is at 91 percent or better for local mail service. The national

average stands at 94 percent or better for local mail service. The national average

stands at 94 percent, tying our record high. Service for First-Class Mail with 2- and

3-day commitments is also our best ever.

When the decade began, we used to enter each holiday mailing season, our busiest

time of the year, with only the most basic of preparations.

Today, we start the season with integrated, focused fall and holiday plans that

we begin developing shortly after the last season has ended.

We now gather information on customer mailings well in advance, so that we

have proper staffing and equipment on hand at our processing facilities. We have

a national operations center to keep track of weather conditions, respond to customer concerns, and prevent bottlenecks in our system. We open additional transportation hubs and use dedicated air transportation to speed delivery of holiday

gifts.

This season, new automated technologies will help us process record holiday volumes more efficiently than ever by reading and barcoding more than half of America’s handwritten greeting cards.

At the start of the 1990’s, the Postal Service had also requested a 5-cent increase

in stamp prices, and customers were voicing concerns about price hikes that were

consistently above the rate of inflation in the economy.

This January, we implemented our second straight increase below inflation. The

rate change was our lowest ever, just a penny more for a First-Class stamp and 2.9

percent overall.

When the decade began, the Postal Service was routinely bleeding red ink and

had rarely posted surpluses in consecutive years.

In 1999, even though we imposed a daunting management challenge upon ourselves by delaying our smallest ever rate increase by 7 months, we will end this fiscal year with our fifth straight positive net income, which has helped us significantly reduce prior negative equity. And we mastered the challenge of reducing

costs by about $700 million without eroding service performance. We are confident

that we will continue that success in FY 2000, even though we will not raise rates

as we had originally planned. By delaying the implementation of the rates and deferring our rate filing by a year, we in essence gave the American mailers a dividend of more than $2 billion.

When the 1990’s got underway, the automated processing of letter mail was in

its infancy and just a fraction of letter mail was barcoded.

Today, after $5 billion worth of investments, more than 88 percent of all letter

mail currently carries a barcode, and 85 percent of our city carriers are receiving

60 percent of their mail sorted in delivery order each day. Robotics, sophisticated

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handling and transport systems, and even automation for flats are being introduced

into postal plants. Within the next several years, fully automated processing facilities and a computer-driven information platform will revolutionize the way we manage the mail and create an information-rich mail stream that will give postal managers and customers alike real-time performance information.

When the decade began, the Postal Service lacked a coordinated method of managing its entire operations. Today, we rely upon a Baldrige-based performance system to drive consistent improvement by focusing the energies and resources of this

vast organization on common goals and targets.

The Postal Service is heading into the next century with the best performance,

planning, technology, and management systems in our history. As always, we owe

that success to the extraordinary effort of our managers, postmasters, supervisors,

and craft employees.

At the same time, though, we enter the new millennium knowing full well that

the most significant challenges in our history await us.

Tomorrow’s marketplace will offer Americans more powerful and plentiful communications choices than ever before.

Private delivery carriers, already industry heavyweights, will continue their aggressive efforts to dominate their respective markets.

Newly privatized and deregulated foreign posts, hungry for revenues, will not only

offer an increasing range of international services to American customers, but are

also likely to begin creating delivery networks right here on U.S. soil.

The revolution in electronic communications may not be proceeding as fast as

some have predicted, but no one questions its momentum. Today, nearly half of

America’s homes own a computer. More than a third have access to the Internet.

Already, powerful forces in the banking, telecommunications, and computer industries are scrambling to create networks for e-payments. As the speed, security, and

convenience of these networks increase—and more and more consumers grow comfortable with logging on to pay their bills—these efforts will reach critical mass. The

eventual result could be the erosion of our total revenues. We believe nearly $17

billion is at risk.

The Postal Service cannot predict precisely when or to what extent these and

other competitive pressures will take their toll on our bottom line in the coming century. But our extensive market research suggests that First-Class Mail volumes

may actually decline over the next 5 years, although we will continue to work on

increasing the value of that mail by keeping costs low and quality high.

But losing First-Class Mail is a real possibility—this factor, along with the rising

costs associated with maintaining a national infrastructure of 38,000 facilities and

a delivery network that grows by a million steps a year—means we can’t sit still.

We have to tap into new revenue streams as old ones begin to taper off if we expect

to maintain affordable prices and continue our investments in better service.

That is why we have been so vocal over the past few years in calling for postal

reform, and why we have worked closely with John McHugh in the House to develop

a fair, meaningful reform bill. The legislation includes some tradeoffs, but on balance, we believe it provides pricing and product flexibilities we need to stay relevant

and attractive to our customers.

That is also why—in addition to our many efforts to improve the value of the mail

for our customers—we are already exploring ideas and developing innovative strategies for the future.

We believe, in fact, that we have a responsibility to the American people to ensure

a healthy and meaningful postal system in the next century. What’s at stake is not

just the continuation of perhaps the most visible and personal of all Federal services, but the endurance of a delivery system that touches every American, helps

bridge our vast distances and differences, and binds our Nation together.

The mail is an experience that we all share, and it is a powerful one. Most of us

look forward to getting our mail each day. There are magazines and catalogs to

browse. There are birthday presents and post cards from friends on vacation. There

are bills, coupons, and offers galore.

Going to the mailbox is such a pervasive habit that one of the leading Internet

companies has helped build their business on the slogan, ‘‘You’ve got mail.’’

Mail is a unique moment in our day, a moment at the mailbox, one that is happening in every home, in every community, every day.

In many ways, the mail has become the gateway to the household, a channel for

commerce and communication that connects families and friends, governments and

citizens, businesses and customers, publishers and readers, charities and sponsors.

Maintaining that connection in the next century, we believe, may well hinge on

our ability to blend the trust, security, and ubiquity of hardcopy mail with the speed

and capabilities of the electronic world.

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Our strategies are just beginning to take shape, and our role vis-a-vis the private

sector will have to be defined in concert with all of you and our many stakeholders

and customers. Already, though, we see several areas of opportunity.

We will build on our strong Internet presence. Our public homepage is the most

heavily trafficked government site, receiving about 3 million ‘‘hits’’ each month. Customers use this site to find ZIP Codes, calculate rates, buy stamps, track packages,

and get other key postal information. We intend to use the speed and access of the

Internet to offer customers information about their mail and access to our products

and services.

As on-line purchases continue to explode, both businesses and consumers want

prompt, reliable delivery, and easy access to a carrier who can handle returns. We

want to be the carrier of choice for merchandise purchased on the Internet and the

inevitable returns that result. We already have a universal business and residential

presence. We are low-priced and we don’t impose surcharges. Our carriers visit

every address, everywhere, 6 days a week.

So, despite many challenges, the Postal Service sees the 21st Century as a great

opportunity to build on our legacy of service to our Nation. During this past decade,

we have worked hard to combine the efficiency and customer focus of private sector

organizations with the public service focus of government. We look forward to working with this Subcommittee to assure that the American people can continue to rely

on the Postal Service for high-quality, low-cost mail services.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement.

Senator COCHRAN. Thank you very much, Postmaster General.

You mentioned that you ended the year with a profit—a net income balance. I wonder, do you intend to use this profit to reduce

the cost of postage?

Mr. HENDERSON. We will do that in real terms because we extend the rate increase—the rate increase which was planned to go

in this year, or early in the year 2000, we are now trying to postpone that rate increase until the year 2001. And as you will recall,

we also extended the rate increase from June of last year; we didn’t

implement it until January. So we are, in effect, giving back our

net income, as much as we can, to our customers.

Senator COCHRAN. These increases that you have planned for the

future are going to have some effect on mail volumes, won’t they?

Will they negatively affect mail volumes? Will there be other ramifications of future rate increases, as well?

Mr. HENDERSON. Well, rate increases generally negatively affect

volume, and customers are demanding more and more for less. And

so that puts huge pressure on the Postal Service to both generate

revenue and to control its costs, for which we have massive efforts

under way right now.

Senator COCHRAN. I know a lot of this is affected by the rate of

inflation. As prices and costs to the Postal Service go up, those

costs have to be passed on to mailers and the users of the Postal

Service. Some mailers, such as those who use the mail for advertising, have expressed concern to me that their rates may go up

faster than inflation in this next round of increases.

What’s the outlook for price increases in the next rate case, and

what is the Postal Service doing to control its costs and thereby reduce the need for large rate increases?

Mr. HENDERSON. Well, we’ve taken several billion dollars in costs

out of the organization. I think it is evident to our customers that

you can see that in both our monthly and our quarterly expense

reports.

We agree that it is imperative that we keep rates as low as possible, and certainly, Standard A is very sensitive. Advertising mail

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is very sensitive to rate increases. We certainly are trying to keep

the rate of increase as low as possible.

Senator COCHRAN. In my opening comments I mentioned the fact

that there have been some obvious changes in technology that have

affected the future role of the Postal Service. For example, as I understand it, there is a good deal of discussion within the Postal

Service about e-commerce and how to take advantage of these new

technologies to improve the way the Postal Service provides its customers with what they want and what they need.

You recently introduced a new website, for example, to assist

businesses using Priority Mail to ship products ordered over the

Internet, and last month you introduced a new product called PC

Postage which allows customers to print digital stamps from their

personal computers.

Could you tell us more about the specifics of this and how it’s

being received in the marketplace?

Mr. HENDERSON. It is probably—short of a new Postmaster General being announced, it’s probably the most publicity we’ve received over any one event in the 28 years I have been in the Postal

Service. It has been very well received. There are two companies

that went commercial August 9, STAMPS.COM and E–STAMPS.

They essentially provide postage off your PC. Each postage imprint

is unique, so it can’t be counterfeited, and it’s just a way for us to

create ease of use for our customers. We’re trying to use the Internet; it is a new channel, and we’re trying to make postal services

available on that new channel, and PC postage is one of the obvious ones. It should eventually save us money, depending on how

many customers adopt it, but it has been received in the marketplace with real enthusiasm.

There are two more companies coming behind E–STAMPS and

STAMPS.COM; that’s Neopost, which is a French company, and

Pitney-Bowes, both of whom are in the developmental stages.

So we see a real proliferation of PC postage.

Senator COCHRAN. Senator Akaka.

Senator AKAKA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

My question is along environmental issues. As a member of both

the Energy and Governmental Affairs Committees, I am naturally

interested in the lead that the Postal Service has taken in its efforts to protect the environment.

I know the Postal Service has received numerous environmental

awards in recognition of its energy conservation, pollution prevention, and recycling programs. The Postal Service, as the Nation’s

largest civilian employer, is well positioned to continue its role as

a leader in alternative energy and fuel use, and I applaud the Postal Service on its leadership in this arena.

Could you describe some of the Postal Service’s efforts in conserving energy and the benefits that the Postal Service has gained

from its efforts?

Mr. HENDERSON. Well, the U.S. Postal Service has saved millions

of dollars in its very, very aggressive environmental and conservation efforts. We use energy-efficient lights; we have an active recycling program that saves millions of dollars; and just last month,

we ordered 500 electric vehicles. I think we are the leader in that

area. Also in alternate fuel vehicles we are the leader.

9

1The brochure entitled ‘‘The First Green Post Office,’’ appears in the Appendix on page 21.

So we are very proud of that program. At one point, when I was

the Chief Operating Officer, I told the then-Postmaster General

that the head of our environmental efforts got more publicity than

he did, because every time I turned around they were giving our

environmental program an award. Charlie Bravo at that time was

heading it up; Charlie has moved on to some other things, but just

for the record, he did an outstanding job.

Senator AKAKA. I was interested to hear about your new ‘‘green’’

postal facility in Fort Worth, Texas. Could you provide more information on the new facility and whether there are more ‘‘green’’ facilities in the works?

Mr. HENDERSON. Yes, I will. In fact, I went to the ribbon-cutting

in Fort Worth, Texas, at that facility, where we have straw in the

walls, and it has an R-factor of some phenomenally high number

for energy conservation. It is a one-of-a-kind, and I will be happy

to provide you all the background information.1

Senator AKAKA. Recently the Postal Service implemented a new

system involving fuel cells for generating power at its Anchorage

mail processing and distribution facility. This system is virtually

pollution-free and requires little maintenance. What are the expected benefits from this system? And will this technology be expanded to other postal facilities throughout the country?

Mr. HENDERSON. Yes, that is an experiment. The fuel cell is

much like a battery that generates energy and hot water from a

chemical reaction. It saves several thousand kilowatts over traditional energy sources. It provides our plant and distribution center

with energy. If, for example, the grid went down in Anchorage, our

plant would still operate. The energy which it generates beyond

what is needed is turned back into the Chugash Electric Grid, so

it does help out the local community. We are very interested in seeing how this operates over a period of time.

Senator AKAKA. From time to time I receive complaints from

residents in some of the rural areas of Hawaii expressing dissatisfaction with the quality of postal service at contract stations.

What criteria is used to establish a contract station, verses a U.S.

Postal Service facility? And what oversight exists once a contract

station is set up?

Mr. HENDERSON. In Hawaii, as in other places, we have very

strict criteria, much similar to establishment of a Post Office. In

your case, Ed Broglio, who is the District Manager in Hawaii, is

directly responsible for that, and I will be happy to relay those

complaints to him, and I’m sure that he will jump right on it.

Senator AKAKA. Mr. Chairman, I have other questions, but I will

come back to them.

Senator COCHRAN. Thank you, Senator.

Senator Domenici.

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR DOMENICI

Senator DOMENICI. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

I have not had occasion to question you or meet with you since

you took your new job, and I want to commend you and congratulate you. Obviously, the Postal Service is doing very well. The reveVerDate 11-SEP-98 10:46 May 12, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 61702.TXT SAFFAIRS PsN: SAFFAIRS
10

nues the Postal Service is generating mean that the subsidies don’t

have to go up as they have in the past, because you’ve been very

innovative.

But I would like to say, in reading your statement, I think you

do analyze the problem in future years correctly. The only thing is,

I read in it that you said, ‘‘Even if the new modes of communication are not growing as rapidly as we thought’’—from what I read,

they are growing more rapidly in some areas than we ever imagined, and they are all more or less competitors in some sense.

So I know you are very concerned about it from the standpoint

of getting a good analysis and seeing where the Postal Service will

stand under that kind of competition. But I guess I would just like

to ask you, what do you go through in an effort to analyze just

what will happen—whose brains are you picking? And what kind

of people are giving you advice as to where things are going and

whether first class mail, which is your staple, will be what it is

today 15 years from now in terms of demand by Americans?

Mr. HENDERSON. Well, we talk to a cross-spectrum of people, in

addition to having our own market research folks. For example, I

meet with CEOs around the country, folks like Lou Gershner at

IBM, Jeff Bezos at AMAZON.COM; we pick their brains about

where—in Mr. Gershner’s case, where technology is going, and in

Jeff Bezos’ case, how he is going to use the Internet in the future,

what’s he going to do with it.

The most vulnerable mail in the U.S. Postal Service are bills and

payments, which account for about $15 billion. But on the other

hand, as I mentioned in my opening statement, the Postal Service

is in a unique position for e-commerce, because the Internet has

squashed the profits out of products; and as profits get squashed

out, people look for low-cost delivery outfits. I use the example that

if you pay $6 for a CD at AMAZON.COM, you’re not going to pay

$7 to have it delivered. I mean, it just doesn’t make any sense. So we sit there at $3.25 with Priority Mail and a unique package,

and we become AMAZON.COM’s shipper of choice because of our

price and our quality.

So there are pluses and minuses. Personally, I don’t think anybody has a handle on where all of this is going. I think it changes

so rapidly. And to the credit of this country, it is so inventive and

so innovative that the landscape almost changes weekly, so that

from Business Week to Time Magazine, you read a new angle. So

we grope with it as best we can, and we look for every opportunity,

whether it’s PC Postage or being the shipper of choice for packages.

We’re looking at it from every angle, as everybody else is.

Senator DOMENICI. Well, I’m pleased that you are, and I think

it’s very important.

Just one parochial issue. In my home State and home city of Albuquerque, you have many facilities, but the main one is a very old

one, located on Broadway and Central Avenue. I have heard concerns from some who patronize the place, some who work there,

some who try to manage things there, that maybe it’s in need of

replacement because of its age, and lack of current technological sophistication for current needs.

I wonder if you would mind having somebody take a look and

give me some kind of a report as to its status, in your opinion?

11

1The letter from Mr. Henderson to Senator Domenici with information about the Albuquerque

facility project appears in the Appendix on page 23.

Mr. HENDERSON. Absolutely.1

Senator DOMENICI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator COCHRAN. Thank you, Senator Domenici, for your contribution to the hearing and the work of this Subcommittee.

Senator Levin has joined us. Senator, you are recognized for any

comments or questions you may have.

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR LEVIN

Senator LEVIN. Mr. Chairman, thank you. Welcome, Mr. Henderson.

Mr. Postmaster General, you are very familiar with our sweepstakes effort in this Subcommittee. We passed a bill recently—I

think it was a unanimous vote in the Senate—which is aimed at,

among other things, giving more authority to the Postal Service to

stop deceptive mailings, and the Postal Service has worked closely

with us on that legislation.

I would like you to comment on that, why you view it as being

important, whether you think it goes far enough, does it give you

the tools that you need?

Mr. HENDERSON. The answer to whether it goes far enough is,

we think it does. We think it is a very good piece of legislation.

The practices in the industry were hurting the industry. In my

opening statement, I said sweepstakes response rates had fallen

anywhere from 20 to 40 percent, so the whole industry was hurt

by the deception. I think it was a very responsible act to bring

some health back to that industry. It hurt our volume; our net volume was hurt this year because the American public were really

put out over deceptive mailings, and I think the legislation was a

key answer.

Senator LEVIN. One of the issues that has come up relative to the

sweepstakes is the question of postal subsidies for nonprofit organizations. I understand that basically, on sweepstakes from a profit

organization, you do not lose money on that mailing; that mass

mailing is not a money loser for you, there is no subsidy involved

in it——

Mr. HENDERSON. Right.

Senator LEVIN [continuing]. And you might even make a little

money on it.

But some of the promotions by some of the nonprofits use some

of the same deceptive practices that we’ve seen in the profit-making organizations. Some of the techniques that we object to from

some of the big sweepstakes companies are problems, whether they

are used by them or whether they are used by a nonprofit organization. The difference is that where a nonprofit organization uses

a sweepstakes which is deceptive, at that point we are subsidizing

that because there’s a subsidy for nonprofits in our Postal Service.

My question is this. If a nonprofit organization which has been

given a subsidized postal rate is found to have engaged in a deceptive practice, can they lose that subsidy? Is that one of the remedies you can apply?

12

1The information entitled ‘‘Domestic Mail Manual,’’ section E670, supplied for the record appears in the Appendix on page 24.

Mr. HENDERSON. I’m not sure. I don’t know. I can provide that

answer to you.

I do know that nonprofits that engage in commercial activities—

and this is a technical thing—can lose their nonprofit status, and

we would certainly not be supportive of any deceptive mailing by

anyone.

Senator LEVIN. In terms of my question, would you answer that

one for the record?

Mr. HENDERSON. Yes, I will. Sure.

THE INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY MR. HENDERSON FOR SENATOR LEVIN FOLLOWS:

An organization is eligible to mail at the Nonprofit Standard Mail rates if it is

not organized for profit and none of its net income accrues to the benefit of any private stockholder or individual. Revocation of a nonprofit mailer’s eligibility to mail

at Nonprofit Standard Mail rates is based upon the determination that the organization is not qualified to mail at the Nonprofit Standard Mail rates in accordance

with the regulations in Domestic Mail Manual, Section E670. Attached is that section of the ‘‘Domestic Mail Manual’’ 1 that applies to eligibility for and revocation

of an authorization to mail at the Nonprofit Standard Mail rates.

Senator LEVIN. You and I have had some correspondence about

semi-postal stamps where the buyer pays more than the cost of a

first class mailing, and the increment above that cost goes to a particular cause. For instance, we did it with breast cancer research.

The Postal Service issued that. There were many of us who thought

it was a mistake; I was one of them that did, and voted against

it, because I thought that it gets us into an area where the Postal

Service, by its own regulations or advice—its own criteria—had decided it would not go anymore. Your stamp subject selection criteria specifically says that semi-postals shall not be issued; that

was your criteria. It seems to me it was right because there are so

many valuable causes. As it was said in this criteria as the reason

for it, there is such a vast number of worthy fundraising organizations in existence that it would be difficult to single out specific

ones to receive such revenue.

Now, we recently had a bill that came through our Committee

which would provide a semi-postal, with the proceeds going, apparently, to a nonprofit organization, which I think is also perhaps

unique, called ‘‘Operation Lifesaver.’’ I’m sure it’s an extremely

good organization, but that’s not the issue. I don’t know whether

we’ve ever had public funds going to a nonprofit that way through

a semi-postal, whether it’s ever been used in that way.

But putting that issue aside, no matter how worthy an organization it might be, you wrote me a letter urging us not to proceed

with any additional semi-postal stamps, including the ‘‘Look, Listen, and Live’’ Stamp Act, S. 712, until the sales period of the

breast cancer research stamp has expired and the GAO has completed its audit.

I wonder whether you would give us the reasons for why you feel

that we should hold off on any additional semi-postal stamps being

authorized until we can see what the audit of the breast cancer research stamp looks like?

13

Mr. HENDERSON. When the breast cancer semi-postal was introduced, it was introduced for a period of time, in which case there

would be some look-back to see how successful it was, both from

an intent to generate money, and from a postal obligation to administer production, distribution and sales. I think it’s just prudent

to wait, since breast cancer research was the first semi-postal, to

wait and do the work on the semi-postal before we issue additional

ones.

Senator LEVIN. Mr. Chairman, I would ask that the letter from

Mr. Henderson to me be included in the record at this point.

Senator COCHRAN. Without objection, it is so ordered.

[The referenced letter follows:]

UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE

Washington, DC 20260, June 15, 1999.

HONORABLE CARL LEVIN

United States Senate

Washington, DC 20510.

DEAR SENATOR LEVIN: This is in response to your May 11 letter concerning information regarding the breast cancer research semi-postal stamp.

As you know, on August 13, 1997, the President signed into law the Stamp Out

Breast Cancer Act that mandated the Postal Service to issue within 12 months a

special first-class postage stamp with a differential, not to exceed 25 percent or 8

cents. On July 29, 1998, the stamp was issued and will be available to the public

for 2 years. The Act provides that before the end of the 2-year period, the General

Accounting Office will perform an audit on the Breast Cancer Research Stamp operation.

The Postal Service historically believed that as America already has a philanthropic tradition unmatched by other nations, semi-postals would be perceived as

yet another solicitation and a public intrusion in an area where private initiative

and generosity have had very beneficial results. We also believed that were the

Postal Service to issue semi-postal stamps, either we or the Congress would be

placed in the very difficult position of determining which organizations should be

funded and which should not.

However, as the Congress expressed itself so strongly on this issue, the Postal

Service has enthusiastically embraced the breast cancer semi-postal stamp. To ensure the success of stamp sales, the Postal Service developed a comprehensive advertising and promotions plan to support the national launch of the Breast Cancer

Research Stamp. The promotional initiatives include post office sales kits, television/

radio interviews, a video news release featuring First Day of Issue ceremony, postal

communications to all our employees, and press kits to major media and health organizations. To date, over 92 million of the breast cancer semi-postal stamps have

been sold.

While the Postal Service has developed guidelines for tracking costs, we have not

yet fully defined which incremental costs associated with the stamp will be offset

against revenue. We have, however, issued payments to the National Institute of

Health and Department of Defense, as intended by the law, totaling over $6.9 million, after expenses.

With regard to S. 712, the Stop, Listen and Live Stamp Act, introduced by Senator Lott, the Postal Service would prefer that no additional semi-postal stamps be

authorized until the sales period of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp has expired

and GAO has completed its audit. We are concerned that a competing semi-postal

stamp would have a negative effect on sales and ultimate success of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp. We believe the success and cost of the stamp should be fully

evaluated before another semi-postal stamp is authorized in order to determine the

value this type of stamp brings to charitable fundraising.

Thank you for the opportunity to clarify our position on this issue. If I may be

of assistance in other postal matters, please let me know.

Sincerely,

WILLIAM J. HENDERSON

Senator LEVIN. And finally, I wonder if you would go back into

the semi-postal issuances historically and provide for the record

14

whether or not there has been an occasion where the incremental

amount—for instance, $0.07, I think, in breast cancer research—

has ever gone to a non-governmental entity, whether we have ever

turned over that funding that is raised to a private entity, or

whether we’d be setting an example with S. 712? If you know now,

you could please tell us; if not, you could tell us for the record.

Mr. HENDERSON. There has never been a semi-postal of that nature, and the breast cancer stamp was the first semi-postal. So we

don’t have any experience in the past with these sorts of things.

That’s why we wanted to do a full review of the breast cancer

issuance.

Senator LEVIN. Where did the extra money go for that breast

cancer research?

Mr. HENDERSON. It went to the Department of Defense and NIH.

Senator LEVIN. You said we’ve never issued a semi-postal?

Mr. HENDERSON. I don’t believe so.

Senator LEVIN. In the history of the country?

Mr. HENDERSON. It’s the first one ever.

Senator LEVIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator COCHRAN. Thank you, Senator.

Mr. Henderson, what is the status of the Postal Service’s efforts

to prepare for the year 2000? We understand that you have undertaken to deal with this, and we wonder what you can tell us about

the status of the Postal Service’s preparations for providing mail

delivery services after the beginning of the new year.

Mr. HENDERSON. Well, we’ve had an extensive effort, as you

might imagine. We have 100 million lines of code in the Postal

Service, and of those, we have identified 137 systems as missioncritical, and we have created over 700 contingency plans, and we’ve

had a full dress rehearsal in which the systems all worked. We

think the Postal Service is well prepared for Y2K. We even have

a notion of an advertising program that when all else fails, you can

always put it in the mail.

Senator COCHRAN. I know that you have tried to identify a number of the major challenges that the Postal Service faces going into

the next decade, as well as the next millennium. Can you tell us

anything about the priorities that you have set to help meet these

major challenges?

Mr. HENDERSON. Sure. I think that the first and foremost challenge that the Postal Service faces internally is to maintain a

strong vigilance on its costs. The key to being a high-quality, lowcost provider is the key to being in the marketplace in the new millennium.

I also think that the Postal Service needs to look thoroughly at

the Internet to see what opportunities it provides Americans from

the Postal Service, such as PC Postage, ease of use, our website,

that you can get Priority Mail. And I also think that the Postal

Service needs to look at new opportunities for revenue—as, for example, facilitating bill payments, areas like that.

But we see a very strong future for the U.S. Postal Service. We,

in fact, are the only organization that goes to every house every

day around the same time each day. So as people disaggregate and

begin to have offices that are only connected by PCs, we’ve become

15

a vital link in connecting the physical merchandise to these households.

Senator COCHRAN. As you have probably noticed, the bells have

sounded for a vote over on the Senate Floor, and my colleagues

have all deserted me. [Laughter.]

I don’t want to be the only Member of the Subcommittee to miss

the vote, so I am going to suspend the hearing at this point, go over

and make this vote, and come right back, if you will indulge us for

just a little.

Mr. HENDERSON. Sure.

Senator COCHRAN. The Subcommittee will stand in recess.

[Recess.]

Senator COCHRAN. If the Subcommittee will come to order, we

will resume our hearing.

One of the areas of interest in the annual report you have submitted is the international mail area and the competition that is

developing, with the Postal Service actually losing volume in some

areas of the mail market internationally. How do you intend to improve upon your competitive relationship in the international market for Postal Service delivery and increase your international mail

volume?

Mr. HENDERSON. I think the answer to that lies in the answer

to many of the other issues, and that is to provide a low-cost, highquality product. As a tactical matter, we have partnered with people like DHL to provide consistency in transportation, and in some

instances, delivery. We have also partnered with private posts,

such as Japanese Post, and we have maintained strict quality control between the two posts.

But competition is fierce internationally, not just from the U.S.-

based competitors but also from the foreign posts. You know, foreign posts are coming to the United States. Germany has an organization, Deutsche Post USA. The British have offices in New York,

Chicago, and California. The Dutch Post is here. So there is a

globalization of activity of postal administrations around the world.

One of the principal drivers for our volume drop-off this year is

that the bulk of international mail had been letter mail, and electronic diversion clearly has impacted that significantly. The other

is the fact that our focus had been on Asia, especially with partners

like L.L. Bean in Japan, and the ‘‘Asian flu,’’ if you will, the Asian

economy created a problem for us. But we expect to come back. We

will be in the game.

Senator COCHRAN. Recently there has been some controversy

over the proposed amendments that you have developed to regulations regarding commercial mail receiving agents, or CMRAs as

they are called. These regulations govern mail that is delivered by

the Postal Service to private businesses that rent out mail boxes

to customers.

As I understand it, the proposed amendments were intended to

protect consumers from mail fraud, primarily by requiring the

boxholders to provide additional information and to list the address

as a private mailbox. But boxholders and small business owners

have raised concerns to us about the impact that these new requirements may have.

What has the Postal Service done to address these concerns?

16

Mr. HENDERSON. Well, customers had concerns about their stationery, so we extended the period of time to comply so that customers would have ample time to change the stationery. That was

their big issue.

The PMB, or private mailbox, was another concern. If you use a

post office box, you have to say, ‘‘Post Office Box 152.’’ On the private mailboxes, folks were using addresses like ‘‘Suite 16,’’ and

then the address of the PMB. A lot of fraud was being perpetrated.

Law enforcement actually got together with the U.S. Postal Inspectors and said, ‘‘We really need to remedy this. We need to protect

the receiver of the mail.’’ So we are just requiring CMRA customers

to show that they are a private mailbox, that’s all, so that as a consumer you won’t think that you are doing business with this ‘‘suite’’

in some building.

Senator COCHRAN. Senator, I have a couple more questions to

wrap up the hearing, but I am prepared to yield to you for any further questions you might have at this point.

Senator AKAKA. I thank you. I have a few more questions too,

Mr. Chairman.

Postmaster General, you have touched on one of the areas frequently mentioned as a major challenge for the Postal Service, and

that is labor management relations. How are these relations now?

And what efforts are planned or needed to develop an effective

partnership between management and employees, management associations, and labor unions?

Mr. HENDERSON. I think the biggest success in labor management relations in the last year has been the agreements with the

American Postal Workers Union and the Mail Handlers Union. We

are currently in negotiations with the National Rural Letter Carriers Association.

The biggest disappointment in labor management relations was

the inability to reach an agreement with the NALC, which is now

in arbitration in its final days. Labor management relations remain

for me a top priority, but it’s a huge challenge. I think that part

of the challenge is that the parties have to learn to work together

to resolve problems and not rely on a third party, and I think the

blame for that lies both within management and within the unions,

and we are—at the leadership of the unions and management—trying to do something about that.

Senator AKAKA. Over the years, employee violence has been a

major concern within the Postal Service. What ongoing efforts are

being undertaken by the Postal Service to address the problem of

violence?

Mr. HENDERSON. Well, we have an independent study being done

on violence, headed by Joe Califano, and it has other distinguished

members, like Doug Frazier from the Auto Workers, and we expect

that report to be concluded in June.

In addition, we have threat assessment teams all over the United

States that react to any potential threat. We have an extensive employee assistance program that is a model for the public and the

private sector, and we have employed activities, strategies like

that—and we think we’ve made progress in communication between employees, which is really important. If it gets hostile, we

intervene.

17

2The questions and answers from Senators Collins, Lieberman, and Cleland for Mr. Henderson appear in the Appendix on pages 36–41 respectively.

It is, though, a tough issue. It’s not one where there is a simple

formula. Violence in America, as you well know, is a tough problem

to solve.

Senator AKAKA. It seems as if the employee assistance program

has been successful in its efforts to combat workplace violence, and

that program is supported by postal employee unions. I have been

informed that $2.7 million will be cut.

What percentage of the program’s total budget does this represent?

Mr. HENDERSON. I couldn’t tell you off the top of my head, but

I will be happy to tell you for the record.

Senator AKAKA. All right. Certainly, we will want that information. How will these cuts affect the program?

Mr. HENDERSON. Well, it is my recollection that about 30 to 40

counselors would be reduced. That’s what I recall. But we don’t

take that as a lack of support for the program. We do housecleaning now; we’ve said that we’re not going on a diet, we’re

changing our lifestyle. We’re having to do more with less in every

aspect of the Postal Service. That’s just a part of cost containment.

So while the employee assistance program gets a little reduction,

so does every other department.

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. You answered the other part of my

question which was going to be the reason for the cuts.

In October 1997, a study on postal workforce diversity was released that made recommendations intended to help the Postal

Service address diversity issues and concerns. In response to the

study, the Postal Service developed initiatives that were generally

designed to help strengthen the diversity program.

What progress has the Postal Service made in implementing

these initiatives?

Mr. HENDERSON. There were 23 recommendations, and a task

force chaired by the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Financial Officer. We have implemented all of the recommendations.

Senator AKAKA. How do the Postal Service’s recruitment and hiring practices help ensure that it has a diverse workforce? And what

improvements have recently been made in this area?

Mr. HENDERSON. We have proactive recruitments in communities, in minority communities. We list job postings. We talk to

minority organizations about opportunities in the Postal Service,

and we’ve been very successful with this.

Senator AKAKA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator COCHRAN. Thank you, Senator.

I know that other Senators who are Members of the Subcommittee may also have questions to submit for answers that will

be included in the hearing record, and we hope you will be able to

respond to those in a timely fashion.2

I have only one concluding question.

We were in debate last year on the subject of post office closings

and relocations, and some Senators wanted to write into the law

some requirements for the Postal Service to follow in such situations. As you may remember, there were new regulations that the

18

Postal Service came up with for notifying communities about

changes in their Postal Service buildings.

Can you tell us how these are working and whether there is any

need for Federal legislation on this subject, in your opinion?

Mr. HENDERSON. In my opinion there is no need for Federal legislation, certainly no process that would require all of the issues in

the community to be adjudicated in Washington. It would put our

capital improvement effort into gridlock nationwide.

We have issued new rules requiring very active, proactive community involvement. Essentially, we want to be a friend to the

community. We don’t want to put post offices where the community

doesn’t want them. But at the same time, we can’t be held hostage

by one individual in the community. We have a policy of working

with the community; for example, taking post offices out of downtown areas—we don’t ordinarily do that. We leave a retail section;

we may separate the plant from the retail section. So we stress

very much to our field officials that we want to be a positive part

of the community. We do not want to be an issue in the community, and I think we’ve had success in that regard.

Senator COCHRAN. I want to ask a parochial question. I went to

a postal facility to buy a Federal duck stamp last year, and there

was a big, long line at this postal facility. It was one of those bad,

rainy early-fall days that we have in the south, and it seems like

that’s when everybody wants to go to the post office, and we all

went at once. There must have been about 20 people standing in

line. There were four or five windows at this facility, but there was

only one window open and one person standing there, it seemed to

me, very casually interested in serving the public. Of course, I

didn’t run up and say, ‘‘I’m a United States Senator and I’m here

to buy my duck stamp’’ or anything like that. As a matter of fact,

I tried to be as in disguise as I possibly could because they might

all hold me responsible for this clerk’s very negligent, I thought,

and carefree attitude about the situation. [Laughter.]

I hear complaints like this, and I’ve personally experienced that

one, and I just thought I would bring it to your attention. What are

you doing about that?

Mr. HENDERSON. Well, we have a national policy—obviously it

wasn’t followed in your case—of customers waiting in line less than

5 minutes, and obviously we have a range of management skills in

the field. I think this Postmaster needs a little personal counselling. If you will give me the name off the record, I assure you that

you won’t stand in line the next time you walk into that post office.

[Laughter.]

Senator COCHRAN. Well, I’m not interested in it so much for myself, but I know the general public runs into that from time to time.

I hear about it and I’m sure other Members of the Senate occasionally hear about the same thing. Senator Akaka brought up the contract situation in his State.

But these are the day-to-day problems that I think a lot of Americans are concerned about. Being interested and showing that you

are interested in serving the consuming public in a polite and efficient way, that would really go a long way, I think, toward improving the image of the Postal Service and improving the way AmeriVerDate 11-SEP-98 10:46 May 12, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 61702.TXT SAFFAIRS PsN: SAFFAIRS
19

cans are able to use the Postal Service facilities throughout the

country.

I know that’s the goal, and I hope you can lend a little energy

to the effort to instill that attitude into Postal Service workers nationwide, most of whom I am sure are very courteous and efficient.

But there are some who are not. I hope that we can get them other

work of some kind.

Mr. HENDERSON. Maybe in another organization.

Senator COCHRAN. Maybe in another part of the building. I don’t

know. Or another job description.

Well, you have been very good to be patient with our questions

and give us this interesting and helpful report on the status of the

Postal Service. We appreciate the good work that you have done in

this job up until now. I am very impressed with the energy and experience that you have brought to the job, and I commend you for

the effort that you are putting into it.

Mr. HENDERSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator COCHRAN. Senator Akaka.

Senator AKAKA. Yes. I would like to add my applause to what

you are doing, Postmaster General, and tell you that I personally

know that you are managing the people in the Pacific, and they do

a great job for you and our country. We look forward to the great

leadership that you give to the Postal Service. To know that we’re

in the black and doing pretty well and that we are meeting the

challenges that are ahead—I feel good about that, and I want to

thank you so much for what you are doing.

Mr. HENDERSON. Thank you.

Senator COCHRAN. Thank you.

The hearing is adjourned.

[Whereupon, at 3:08 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned, to

reconvene at the call of the Chair.]

(21)

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