Issue Position: The United States Post Office

Issue Position

As a lifelong resident of a small town community, I've come to appreciate the importance of the United States Postal service. When I was injured in an accident and unable to make the trip to the post office, local postal workers often delivered my mail. I have a sister employed with the Marseilles Post Office; my mother retired from the Seneca Post office. Not only does the USPS provide well-paid union jobs to these communities, it is a vital link that connects this nation and supports commerce.

Local small businesses depend upon postal facilities for shipping, delivery and billing; seniors rely on the post office for delivery of medical supplies, Social Security and pension checks; and general mail is still an important means of communication for those who either don't have access to, can't afford, or prefer not to rely on the impersonal and often complicated Internet services.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the United States Constitution, known as the Postal Clause, empowers Congress "To establish post offices and post roads."

On July 26, 1775, the Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin our nation's first Postmaster General of the Post Office Department, today known as The United States Postal Service. Among the most important jobs of the fledgling service was to make certain that every citizen, whether in large towns or outlying areas, had equal access to mail service. It's was basically the Internet of the day. Franklin understood the importance of a connected nation.

Unfortunately, on Dec. 20, 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), a bill that mandated the USPS to pay roughly $5.5 billion per year for ten years to fully fund USPS retirement and health benefits for 75 years -- That's fully funded retirement for every living postal worker as well as nearly 2-1/2 generations of postal workers not yet born.

No other business or governmental agency on earth is required to meet such a mandate, a mandate which virtually guarantees that the USPS will eventually collapse. But that was the plan all along: To eliminate the USPS and turn its services over to private package delivery corporations.

Here are a few facts to consider:

The United States Postal Service uses absolutely zero taxpayer funds to operate. The Service operates exclusively on postage sales and the sale of a small inventory of packaging materials.
The USPS is one of the most efficient governmental agencies in the nation.
Without the burden imposed by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, the USPS is an incredibly profitable enterprise.
The large corporate package delivery companies do not deliver everywhere. Companies like UPS and FEDEX contract with the USPS to perform final delivery of packages in many rural communities and inner city neighborhoods that are considered "unprofitable" by the big carriers.

Although the reduction in mail volume has certainly caused a reduction in Postal Service revenue, it is the Congressional mandate, not volume reductions, that has made it difficult for the Service to meet its mandated obligations. The result is the proposed closings of hundreds of postal facilities nationwide, the loss of tens of thousands of postal jobs, and reduction in service hours. These measures will result in real hardships for businesses, seniors and the general population.

Ultimately, the USPS will become uncompetitive and fail, resulting in privatization of all package and mail deliveries. Privatization will almost certainly bring skyrocketing delivery costs.

I plan to work hard to rescind the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act and restore Benjamin Franklin's vision of a connected America through a vital and innovative Postal Service.

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