Congressmen Gerry Connolly (D-VA) Don Young (R-AK), joined by 73 other bipartisan members of Congress, have written Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) Chairwoman Ruth Goldway to urge the PRC to reject thousands of Post Office closures in favor of reforming the Postal Service’s business model.

Instead of cutting service, the bipartisan letter drafted by Connolly and Young said Congress should remove the strictures imposed on the Postal Service by the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, such as an onerous retirement prefunding requirement and prohibition on reasonable retail activity within postal facilities.
 
“We have been presented with a false choice of closing post offices and slashing the workforce or letting the Postal Service go bankrupt,” Connolly said.  “There are better alternatives. The Postal Service’s unparalleled retail network is a competitive advantage, but that advantage can’t be leveraged because of the 2006 law that prohibits the Postal Service from even selling many postal-related products.  We need to change that law.”

In addition, the letter proposed refunding the Postal Service’s pension overpayment to avoid the Postal Service’s pending technical default.

“Too many Americans rely on dependable postal service for us to not act on this issue,” said Young.  “Getting rid of burdensome regulations and cutting the red tape will allow the Postal Service to operate more like a business in the future. My hope is that Congress takes advantage of this opportunity to strengthen the Postal Service without hurting rural Americans.”

Connolly and Young emphasized that eliminating Post Offices and cutting service would undermine the Postal Service’s competitiveness and the $1 trillion private sector mailing industry.

In concluding their letter to the PRC, the Members of Congress stated:

“This Constitutional institution must be strengthened, not eviscerated, because it continues to improve quality of life for our constituents while creating more than a trillion dollars of private sector business activity.  Widespread closure of post offices should be rejected in favor of more thoughtful reform that fixes the errors of the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act and finally allows the Postal Service to behave like a business and ensures the requirement to provide universal service is fulfilled.”

Connolly-Young Letter to PRC Chairwoman Ruth Goldway click here.