Get Off the U.S. Post Office’s Back!
Congress needs to get off our U.S. Post Office’s back.
My direct mail company, Americoups, is being affected by the problems Congress has created for our post office.
www.americoups.com
Postal rates have increased and there’s uncertainty. Yes, uncertainty caused by Congress.
Rural America relies on our postal system, as does America’s small business.
If Congress really has the needs of small business in mind, then they need to act to allow our post office to work more effectively.
The second photo of a U.S. Mail Box was taken on top of Mt. Washington (6,288 ft.) in New Hampshire where you’d never expect Federal Express or U.P.S. to pick up from or deliver to.
The 3rd photo is a sign that shows that the observatory at the top of Mt. Washington has a post office.
The problems Congress has caused the U.S. Post Office is outlined here by Terry Grant, President of Ohio’s Postal Workers.
http://www.employeetimeclocks.com/articlepageX.aspx?artid=23
“While the drop in mail volume is a contributing factor, it is not the main reason for the Postal Service’s severe financial difficulty. In 2006, the Bush administration and Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act that required the Postal Service to fund future retiree health-care premiums for 75 years within a 10-year period ending in 2016. This mandate requires the Postal Service to pay $5.5 billion a year for a total of $55 billion.
No other government agency or private corporation has to make this kind of pre-fund payment. Because of this law, the agency is pre-funding health-care premiums for workers who haven’t even been hired.
Basically, the Postal Service must start out each year $5.5 billion in debt. Independent audits have shown that without this pre-fund requirement, the Postal Service would have had income exceeding expenses for this time period.
In addition, audits completed by the Office of the Inspector General and the Office of Personnel Management have determined that the formula used to determine the amount of pre-funding was incorrect, and the Postal Service has overpaid by $10 billion to $25 billion.
The Office of Personnel Management also concluded that the Postal Service has overpaid into its retirement accounts by billions of dollars, but it cannot return this money without congressional authorization.
Dismantling the Postal Service’s distribution network will have a severe impact on companies that rely on the Postal Service to conduct business: to deliver bills and catalogs, return payments, distribute information about products and services and deliver goods to customers. Closing postal facilities also would have a devastating impact on millions of citizens who rely on the mail to connect them to their communities.
Nearly 40 percent of Americans do not have broadband Internet access, and 28 percent still have no Internet access at all. Moreover, typically it is people that live in rural areas that do not have access to the internet. For instance, it is no secret that it can be more difficult to set up an internet connection in countryside towns.
That being said, with satellite internet options rising in popularity, this could soon be about to change. You can find more info about why satellite internet is well suited to people living in rural areas by heading to the Satellite Internet Now website.
Additionally, more than 50 percent of consumers still receive hard-copy bills and statements. Small towns would lose their identity if their post office closes. People who rely on the mail for their Social Security check, annuity or prescription medication would see delays in delivery.
Utility companies could see their bills delayed. In fact, in Canton, the sewer department sent notice to its customers saying it will mail bills a week earlier in order to offset the proposed change in delivery standards.
In Ohio, there are nine mail-processing facilities and more than 100 post offices slated for closure or consolidation. The plan is to actually sort some Ohio mail in Michigan and Pennsylvania. It is estimated that more than 3,000 jobs will be affected if Congress does not take action.
Currently, more than two dozen pieces of postal legislation are pending in Congress. The problem is getting the House of Representatives and the Senate to take action. A moratorium on the processing consolidations and post-office closings is set to expire on May 15, and postal management has vowed to start the closure process immediately after the moratorium ends.
There is a simple solution.
Congress must repeal the pre-funding requirement, allow the U.S. Postal Service to recover overpayments to its retiree funds and protect service to the American people. Resolving the Postal Service’s financial crisis would enable the agency to maintain service standards, protect the mail-processing network, prevent the closing of rural post offices, maintain six-day delivery and modernize.
Congress also must allow the agency to offer new products and services.
The U.S. Postal Service is the best in the world. It delivers more than 40 percent of the world’s mail volume quickly and efficiently. Why would our elected officials let it become obsolete?
Our Founding Fathers expressly authorized the post office in the Constitution of the United States. How could their successors let it be destroyed? Congress created the Postal Service’s financial crisis, and Congress must fix it, now.”
By TERRY GRANT -President -Ohio Postal Workers -Union AFL-CIO -Canton
And Congress uses this money paid by the Post Office for other things- outrageous.