Today the Committee on Governmental Affairs is holding a hearing to consider the nomination of Dawn Tisdale to be a Commissioner on the Postal Rate Commission.

The Commission reviews the Postal Service’s requests for new domestic mail rates, fees, and mail classifications and makes recommendations to the Postal Board of Governors. The Commission may also propose changes in mail classification to the Postal Service; investigate complaints concerning postal rates, fees, mail classifications or services that involve issues of nationwide significance; and hear appeals from postal customers concerning decisions to close or consolidate retail post offices. In short, the Commission is instrumental in helping the Postal Service meet its financial and operational challenges.

The good news for Mr. Tisdale is that he would join the Postal Rate Commission at a time when the very direction of the Postal Service is being debated and reconsidered. The bad news is that he will be called upon to help bail out a ship that is taking on water fast. The Postal Service is the linchpin of a $900 billion mailing industry that employs nine million Americans in fields as diverse as direct mailing, printing, catalog production and paper manufacturing. David Walker, the General Accounting Office’s Comptroller General, has expressed concerns about the Postal Service’s more than $90 billion in unfunded liabilities obligations. He has also pointed to the need for “fundamental reforms to minimize the risk of a significant taxpayer bailout or dramatic rate increases.” Earlier this month, the Committee concluded a series of eight hearings taking an in-depth look at the thirty-five legislative and administrative recommendations of the President’s Commission on the U.S. Postal Service.

In its final report, issued last July, the Commission described the need for a “vigilant, broadly empowered and independent Postal Regulatory Board.” Among other things, they recommended that the current rate-setting process, often described as “lengthy and litigious,” be replaced with a more streamlined process; that the regulator should have the authority to clarify and refine both the scope of the mail monopoly and the universal obligation, and that members of the regulatory board should be chosen solely on the basis of their technical qualifications and professional experience.

It has been over thirty years since the Postal Reorganization Act was passed.  The time has come to reassess how the Postal Service should adapt to its customers, competitors and technology, and best fulfill its mission in the 21st century.  The need to preserve a strong and universal Postal Service is clear, particularly in states with large rural areas, such as Maine.  Within days, Senator Carper and I plan to introduce a postal reform bill that will incorporate many of the Commission’s recommendations.

Mr. Tisdale, you have several years of valuable experience at the Postal Service.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts on what you believe to be the appropriate role of the Postal Service’s regulator.