Date: 2006-12-08
Speaker: DANNY DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H

the gentleman who Service remained the same. as stated in Title tonight N managing this bill very ap- 39 of the U.S. Code: "The Postal Service shall propriately. as he has managed the af- have as its basic function the obligation to profairs from the minority side on this vide postal services to -bind the Nation toissue so very. very ably. CHAKA gether through the personal. educational. litFATTAH. who was the ranking member erary. and business correspondence of the when we really got into the meat of people. It shall provide prompt. reliable. and this issue. BARBARA ROSE COLLINS. the efficient services to patrons in all areas and first ranking member. and on and on shall render postal services to all commuand on. nities." But most of all. those who had the . The new Postal Service officially began opgreatest stake in this initiative. the erations on July 1. 1971. In the intervening 35 years. the commercial environment in which the Postal Service operates has changed. In 1971. UPS had a much smaller percentage of the parcel market. FedEx didnt exist. and the Internet had not been created. As we know. these developments have drastically altered the postal and delivery sector of our economy. Yet. in the last three and a half decades our Nations postal laws have changed very little. I do not know of any entity in the United States today. public or private. that is still operating with such an outdated structure. A report by the Presidents Commission on the Postal Service concluded that without a new approach. the future of universal mail service is in peril. According to the Secretary of the Treasury. "We really need to get it done now . . . the business model of the Postal Service just doesnt work anymore. Its not sustainable in light of all the technological changes and changes in the marketplace." Today we have a choice . . . whether to vote to preserve universal postal service at uniform rates to every stretch of this Nation. or whether to instead vote "no" and assign the Postal Service to an almost certain future of ever escalating increases in postal prices and devastating post office closures. The bill we have before us is the product of extensive bipartisan/bicameral efforts with the Government Reform Committee Chairman. the Committees Ranking Member. the Committee Member from Illinois (i.e.. Mr. DANNY DAVIS). and me. together with our colleagues in -the other body. particularly Senators COLLINS. CARPER. and LIEBERMAN. I want to take a moment to underscore my appreciation for the hard work that each of them took to bring about a proposed solution. in close collaboration with the Administration. This bill is truly a consensus document. having built upon H.R. 22 as it passed the House in the last session 41320. and then the Senate by unanimous consent in February of this year. I have heard it said. time and time again. and it is absolutely true. this is not a perfect bill. I cannot imagine any person. short of someone suffering from multiple personality disorder. who would sit down and. by themselves. craft this particular piece of legislation. But I think that is true of any product that comes about after 12 years of negotiations. of any product in this legislative body that attempts. as this bill does. to effect sector reform or reform of a system that while touching every Americans life. 6 days a week. at a minimum. has not been changed in any meaningful way. in more than 35 years. So what we have tried to do. with the enormous. enormous support and patience and input of: the Government Reform Chairman. of the gentleman from Illinois. Mr. DANNY DAVIS. who started on the Postal Subcommittee. who served so honorably and so diligently with me. and over the past years. the Ranking Member of the Government Reform Committeeall of whom I hold in great esteem. and to whom I express great appreciation. I would be remiss if I also didnt note the work and commitment of the two previous Government Reform Chairmen. DAN BURTON and Bill Clinger. to this task. We have come up with a bill that embodies the input of literally hundreds of organizations that either compete against or rely upon this system we call the post office in America today. It does. as well. advance what. at least for me. was always the primary directive. and that is. that the interests of the Postal Service. under this legislation. would be better served than the status quo. That is an opinion. by the way. that is held by corporate and nonprofit mailers. competitors. postal unions and management groups. and the Administration. All of these groups. I think it is fair to say. are particularly interested in seeing this House. and ultimately the Congress. advance the issue. an issue that I hope all of my colleagues understand is one of great urgency. and one that we continue to ignore at our extreme peril. So it is a positive moment. The. patient work on postal modernization has proceeded steadily even though. in all this time. "postal reform" has not once been featured on the Sunday talk shows. Balanced. nonpartisan postal reform may not be the stuff of political glory. but it is the sort of legislative work that will earn the longterm gratitude of the American mailing consumerfor I can think of no other government agency that touches the lives of all us. nearly every day. at home and at work. Weve said it before and well say it againthat the Postal Service is the center of a nearly $900 billion industry. employing 9 million workers nationwide. and representing nearly 9 percent of our nations gross domestic product. The "Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act" affirmatively responds to all of the Administrations 5 principles for postal reform. and incorporates most of the 17 legislative recommendations made by the Presidents Commission on the U.S. Postal Service. The bill mandates transparency in the Services finances. costs. and operations. The legislation creates a modern system of rate regulation. establishes fair competition rules and a powerful new regulator. addresses the Services universal service obligation and the scope of the mail monopoly. and institutes improvements to the collective bargaining process. While the bill provides some of the pricing flexibility recommended for the Postal Service by the Presidents Commission. thebill also imposes controls to protect the public interest from unfair competition. This is wellrefined legislation that reflects the input and feedback from the more than three dozen hearings and nearly 125 witnesses that the Government Reform Committee and its former Postal Service Subcommittee held over the course of the last 12 years. Make no mistake that today is indeed a day to choose. The Comptroller General of the United States has reported that the Postal Services current business model. formulated as it was in 1970. is no longer sustainable in the 21st century. Our Postal Service is in trouble and requires reform to preserve universal service and prevent a worsening crisis. To understand the challenges at hand. one needs simply to read the testimony the Committee received regarding the: Serious declines in firstclass volume. changes in the mail mix. increased competition from private delivery companies. sub par revenue growth. rising costs. significant financial liabilities and obligations (including roughly $60 billion in unfunded retiree health benefits alone). insufficient increases in postal productivity. and uncertainties regarding how well the Service can streamline its outdated network of facilities under existing law. Take declining firstclass mail volume as one example of a fundamental challenge to the Services longterm viability. Firstclass mail volume has declined annually for the last 5 yearsnot since the Great Depression has the Postal Service seen declines in firstclass mail. The Services core business of irstclass mail has historically been the "bread and butter" that makes the system operate: firstclass mail generates about half of the Services mail volume. more than half of its revenues. and covers more than twothirds of the Services overhead costs. About half of overhead costs are comprised of universal service costs of maintaining postal delivery and retail networks. Declining first class mail volume is causing a loss of firstclass mail revenues to cover overhead costs. which will be difficult to recover from other classes of mail. While the problems are dire. I believe the strong bipartisan bill we are presenting todaybased as it is on the Presidents principles for legislative changeidentify a path to some solutions. The Postal Service is simply too important an institutiontoo important to the people of this nation. too important to our economyto await the full brunt of a crisis that is clearly upon the doorstep. Indeed. there is good reason why this is the first Administration since President Nixons to call on Congress to modernize our Nations postal laws. I remain h6peful that as Congress did in 1970. we too today will answer the Presidents charge and challenge. The Postal Service. its 750.000 dedicated employees. and the nearly 300 million American citizens who depend on universal service at affordable rates are counting on us.