The subcommittee on Government Operations, chaired by Pete Sessions (R-TX) held a hearing on June 24. The focus was a review of the USPS operations from the perspective of key stakeholders.
In a positive revelation, the hearing was devoid of partisan banter and approached the current state of the postal system with thoughtful consideration.
There were multiple questions from representatives regarding opportunities to expand public-private partnerships. This was received as an optimistic message by all except the unions. The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) released a statement from Mark Diamondstein dispelling the notion that privatization, whether piecemeal or in total, would lead the Postal Service down a better financial path.
A very experienced panel of experts in postal matters was called as witnesses:
- Paul Steidler, Senior Fellow, Lexington Institute
- Jim Cochrane, CEO, Package Shippers Association (PSA)
- Mike Plunkett, CEO and President, Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom)
- Thomas Schatz, President, Citizens Against Government Waste
- Elena Spatoulas Patel, The Brookings Institution
- Brian Renfroe, President National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC)
Representing business mailers, PostCom CEO and President Mike Plunkett emphasized how, under the DFA plan, “PostCom members have been forced to endure unprecedented rate increases and service degradation while the Postal Service records staggering losses and squanders mailer-funded capital in an ill-considered effort to build out excess package processing capacity.”
This hearing was not a promise of any new legislative reform, but instead it was a good start for further collaborative discussions, inclusive of stakeholders and legislators.
The hearing can be viewed in its entirety, and full testimony statements can be downloaded from the House site.
