Sen. Carper Reacts to PRC’s Planned 6 Month Review of Postal Proposal to End Saturday Delivery
April 29, 2010
WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) released the following statement reacting to the Postal Regulatory Commission’s planned six month review of the US Postal Service’s proposal to end Saturday Delivery:
“I’m pleased that the Postal Regulatory Commission will be taking steps in the coming weeks to thoroughly examine the Postal Service’s proposal to eliminate Saturday delivery and hear the views of stakeholders on both sides of the issue.
“I am concerned; however, that the proposed timeline that the Commission has laid out for the completion of its work might mean that a final advisory opinion from Commissioners might not come until October or later. As I pointed out at a hearing I chaired last week, this seems to me to be an awfully long period of time, especially when you consider the fact that the 9/11 Commission came out with its report just seven months after President Bush signed the bill that created it into law. With the Postal Service at risk of running out of cash and borrowing room sometime in 2011, it is important that postal management and Congress hear from the Commission sooner rather than later on the advisability of finding savings by eliminating Saturday delivery. My understanding is that the law and Commission regulations envision the Commission being able to complete work on proposals like the Postal Service’s proposal on Saturday delivery within three months. I recognize that this is an issue that a lot of people have strong feelings about but I hope that the Commission can make its views known on a quicker timeline, particularly given the dire financial circumstances currently facing the Postal Service.”
PRC Sets Schedule to Review Proposal to End Saturday Mail Delivery
Washington, DC – The Postal Regulatory Commission today established the procedural schedule, available here, for Docket N2010-1 to review whether the U.S. Postal Service plan to eliminate Saturday delivery should be implemented.
“The Commission has developed a disciplined schedule to ensure a timely, thorough review of the Postal Service’s proposal,” said Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway. “Our process will provide multiple opportunities for the public to be heard and for all the facts to be considered before the Commission issues its Advisory Opinion.”
In addition to steps outlined in the procedural schedule, the Commission will hold public field hearings in Las Vegas, NV; Sacramento, CA; Dallas, TX; Memphis, TN; Chicago, IL; Rapid City, SD; and Buffalo, NY. Persons wishing to be considered for inclusion on a field hearing witness panel may contact the Commission at www.prc.gov, by clicking the “contact PRC” tab or by phoning 202-789-6800.
By law, the Postal Service is required to ask the Commission for an Advisory Opinion in advance of any change in nationwide service. Commission procedures provide for public, on-the-record hearings to analyze and cross-examine the Postal Service’s “five-day” proposal and supporting evidence. During the process, mail users and interested members of the public may offer supporting or opposing views, both informally and as part of more formal, technical presentations. The nationwide elimination of Saturday mail delivery service is one of the most significant changes the Postal Service has ever presented to the Commission.
A list of the field hearing locations and times is attached.
The Postal Regulatory Commission is an independent federal agency that provides regulatory oversight over the U.S. Postal Service to ensure the transparency and accountability of the Postal Service and foster a vital and efficient universal mail system. The Commission is comprised of five Presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed Commissioners, each serving terms of six years. The Chairman is designated by the President. In addition to Chairman Goldway, the other Commissioners are Vice Chairman Tony Hammond, Dan Blair, Nanci Langley, and Mark Acton.
PRC FIELD HEARING SCHEDULE FOR DOCKET NO. N2010-1:
May
Las Vegas, Nevada – Monday, May 10, 1:00 p.m.
City Council Chambers, 400 Stewart Avenue
Sacramento, CA – Wednesday May 12, 9:00 a.m.
Sacramento City Hall, City Council Chambers, 915 I Street
Dallas, Texas – Monday, May 17, 1:00 p.m.
Dallas City Hall, City Council Chambers, 1500 Marilla Avenue
Memphis, TN – Wednesday, May 19, 1:00 p.m.
Memphis City Hall, City Council Chambers, 125 N. Main Street
June
Chicago, IL – Monday, June 21, 1:00 p.m.
Chicago City Hall, City Council Chambers, 121 N. LaSalle Street
Rapid City, SD – Wednesday, June 23, 9:00 a.m.
Journey Museum, 222 New York Street
Buffalo, NY – Monday, June 28, 1:00 p.m.
Buffalo City Hall, City Council Chambers, 65 Niagara Square, 12th Floor
PRC Chairman Urges Caution before Nation Cuts Mail Service
Washington, DC – Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway today cautioned against deciding on major cuts in universal mail service until Congress considers possible changes to Postal Service funding of employee pensions and future retiree health benefits.
In remarks before the Senate postal oversight subcommittee, Goldway said, “These are two unresolved issues that could have major immediate impact on the Postal Service’s financial crisis, as well as a material effect on the five-day delivery issue.” The Commission is currently conducting extensive public proceedings to gather evidence and analyze the impact of eliminating Saturday mail service. She emphasized that no decision has been made. “This important matter requires the consideration of both the Commission and the Congress.”
A recent Commission study for Congress found that a recalculation of the Postal Service’s liability for future retiree health benefits payments would reduce the total by nearly $35 billion, allowing currently mandated annual payments to be lowered by $2 billion a year while still meeting the original prefunding goals. The Commission has also initiated a review of OPM’s calculation of Postal Service pension funding, which the Postal Service Inspector General contends is overfunded by $75 billion.
The potential near-term savings from delivery cuts has significantly less impact on the Postal Service than addressing retiree healthcare liabilities and pension funding, and such cuts could add to the pace of mail declines. With regard to the healthcare liabilities, Goldway said: “My colleagues and I support readjusting the payments to an affordable level, perhaps over a longer period of time and/or tied to the Postal Service’s ability to pay. We see this as an essential part of any plan to help the Postal Service in the future.”
While commending postal management and employees for implementing cost reductions without sacrificing service, Goldway challenged the Postal Service’s ten-year plan for dire forecasts of steep volume declines and huge debt, projections that have been questioned by Commission staff and by the Congressional Research Service. “By concentrating on cuts at the expense of service and innovation, the Postal Service plan offers the path to obsolescence,” she said.
The Chairman offered a positive vision of wide-ranging growth ideas, adjustments in postal retiree benefit outlays and confidence in the improving economy helping to stabilize the Postal Service and maintain high levels of customer service. She recommended that the Postal Service expand government partnerships, improve retail activities, make better use of the postal workforce and enhance its mailing products, including the provision of industry standard tracking and tracing services.
First among a list of 11 specific ideas included in her testimony, Goldway called for the Postal Service to develop mail products based on value to the customer and not just volume. “This is the fundamental tenet needed to fix the Postal Service’s broken business model,” she said.
“The Postal Service should reposition its goals to meet the needs of an evolving society and its historical obligation to bind the Nation together,” Goldway said. “These are questions that the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act requires the Commission to ask. What does the Constitution and the law require? What is best for the Nation? How can the Postal Service maintain and improve its universal service to citizens and the business community who rely on the mail. I believe it is possible to create a positive plan that envisions a future with a vibrant communications network, reengineered and reenergized to provide universal service for a new century of customers.”
A copy of the Chairman’s testimony is available at www.prc.gov.
PCMA: Altering Mail Delivery Schedule Could Negatively Impact Consumers Relying on Home Delivery of Prescription Drugs
WASHINGTON -A United States Postal Service (USPS) proposal that would reduce delivery of mail to five days could negatively impact the millions of Americans with chronic conditions who rely on the convenience and value provided by mail-service pharmacies, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) said in letters sent to U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Edolphus Towns (D-NY) and U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman (I-CT)
“About 1-in-6 prescriptions that are home delivered arrive on Saturday. Consumers count on getting their prescriptions at the right time and often can’t wait an additional two days, or even three days in the case of federal holidays that fall on a Monday,” said PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt.
Government and independent studies have examined the increased savings, safety, and adherence provided by mail-service pharmacies. That research includes:
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC found that mail-order pharmacies provide more savings than retail pharmacies.
- Pharmacotherapy: Official Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. Peer reviewed data found that highly automated mail-service pharmacies dispensed prescriptions with 23-times greater accuracy than retail pharmacies. The mail-service error rate was zero in several of the most critical areas, including dispensing the correct drug, dosage, and dosage form.
- Harvard University. Independent, peer-reviewed research conducted by Harvard University and published in 2004 by Health Affairs, analyzed some 670 million prescription drug claims and concluded that generic drug substitution rates at PBM mail-service pharmacies were slightly higher than at retail pharmacies.
- American Journal of Managed Care. Consumers receiving their prescription medications for chronic conditions through a mail-service pharmacy “were more likely to take them as prescribed by their doctors than did patients who obtained them from a local pharmacy,” according to the study. The study also found that 84.7 percent of patients who received their medications by mail at least two-thirds of the time stuck to their physician-prescribed regimen versus 76.9 percent who picked up their medications at “brick and mortar” Kaiser Permanente pharmacies.
PCMA represents the nation’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which improve affordability and quality of care through the use of electronic prescribing (e-prescribing), generic alternatives, mail-service pharmacies, and other innovative tools for 210-plus million Americans.
PRC to Consider if Ending Saturday Mail Delivery is OK – Public Comment Invited
”Among key questions to be answered are: “Will the savings the Postal Service anticipates be as significant as they estimate? Will mail volume decline more than the Postal Service anticipates? Will businesses and citizens have service that remains adequate to meet their needs? And will the national economic impact of service reductions offset or add to the savings that are proposed?”
The PRC issued the following press release:
Washington, DC – The Postal Regulatory Commission today established Docket N2010-1 to thoroughly review whether the U.S. Postal Service plan to eliminate Saturday delivery should be implemented. The Postal Service is required to ask the Commission for an Advisory Opinion on any change in nationwide service it proposes. This is one of the most significant changes the Postal Service has ever presented to the Commission. www.prc.gov, by clicking the “contact PRC” tab to access a convenient online customer service form. To participate more formally in the process and to file documents to be included in the online public record, interested parties should click the “Filing Online” tab and follow the appropriate instructions.
“The Commission is the watchdog agency that determines if the Postal Service meets its Universal Service Obligation to the nation. Our process will provide multiple opportunities for the public to be heard and for all the facts to be considered before the Commission issues its Advisory Opinion,” said Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway. “The ball is in our court now. There will be no final decision until the record is complete.”
The Postal Service has advised the Commission that due to falling mail volumes and revenues it is considering eliminating Saturday mail collection and delivery except for Express Mail and existing post office box service. It submitted 11 pieces of testimony in support of its Request.
Commission procedures provide for public, on-the-record hearings to analyze and cross-examine the Postal Service’s “five-day” proposal and supporting evidence. During the process, mail users and interested members of the public may offer supporting or opposing views, both informally and as part of more formal, technical presentations. The Commission will also conduct as many as six field hearings and solicit public comments through its website. Dallas, Sacramento and Chicago are among the cities the Commission is considering for possible field hearing locations.
Chairman Goldway identified four areas that will be scrutinized. “Will the savings the Postal Service anticipates be as significant as they estimate? Will mail volume decline more than the Postal Service anticipates? Will businesses and citizens have service that remains adequate to meet their needs? And will the national economic impact of service reductions offset or add to the savings that are proposed?”
The elimination of one mail delivery day is not a new concept. It has been proposed many times and was the subject of extensive congressional review in 1977 and 1980. In 1983, the Congress adopted specific language requiring the Postal Service to maintain six-day delivery. The Commission’s Advisory Opinion will be considered by Congress as it reviews the Postal Service’s request to change the law.
The public is invited to share their views via the Commission web site,
The Postal Service proposal was electronically filed with the Commission at 3:34 p.m. today.
Letter Carriers union assails Postal Service for lobbying public to end Saturday delivery
Filed under: mail delivery, NALC, postal, press releases, usps
Rolando says only Congress can authorize cutback
NALC launches “5-Day is the Wrong Way” website to keep public informed
WASHINGTON — The national president of the 295,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers union (NALC) today criticized the U.S. Postal Service for arrogantly lobbying the general public with a misleading Internet web site to win approval of elimination of Saturday mail delivery despite the fact that Congress has shown little interest in such a move.
NALC President Fredric V. Rolando said the recently announced postal web site offers misleading information and planning guides for businesses and households regarding its plan to cut Saturday collection and mail delivery services.
“The arrogance of the Postal Service in this campaign to lobby the public to embrace five-day delivery as the answer to the Postal Service’s problem is astounding,” he said. “Given that Congress has shown very little interest in eliminating Saturday service and must approve any change, the Postal Service should focus its energies on real solutions, not risky and counterproductive service cuts.”
“The Postal Service should stand down on this reckless drive to end Saturday delivery,” Rolando added. “It would do more harm than good and it distracts us from the real solution, eliminating the crushing burden of a deeply flawed health benefits pre-funding policy.”
Rolando said the Postal Service’s move has forced the union to set up its own special web site that will provide the news media and general public with complete information on why the proposed change to five-day delivery is the wrong way to go to secure the long-term viability of the Postal Service.
The NALC special web site is http://nalc.org/postal/reform/index.html.
“What makes matters worse is that the Postal Service is sending a very confusing message to Congress,” Rolando said. “Just a week ago, Postmaster General John Potter told a Senate hearing that ‘we wouldn’t have to go to five-day delivery’ if Congress corrected the deeply flawed retiree health pre-funding policy.”
Rolando emphasized that the decision to reduce the level of service and slow mail service in America is not the Postal Service’s to make.
“Only the Congress can authorize this change. The web site and the public relations campaign launched by the Postal Service appears designed to fool mailers and the American people that 5-day delivery is a done deal,” Rolando added.
He said the Postal Service took the outrageous step to launch the deceptive web site:
- Despite the fact that current law requires 6-day delivery and that Congress has not given its approval to the Postal Service’s proposal to cancel delivery and collections services on Saturday;
- Despite the fact that neither the Appropriations Committees nor the Postal Service’s oversight committees have even held hearings on the radical proposal to slow service and destroy 50,000 to 80,000 good jobs in the middle of a jobs crisis; and
- Despite the fact that the Postal Service had not yet filed for an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), which must hold hearings and subject the Postal Service’s questionable financial claims to democratic scrutiny.
Over the past few years, the NALC has led the drive to reform the pre-funding policy. That drive has been assisted in recent months by reports of the Postal Service’s own Inspector General that show that, measured accurately, the USPS surplus in the Civil Service Retirement Fund is large enough to fully fund future retiree health benefits. Fixing this problem would save the USPS at least $8 billion annually — far more than the speculative $3 billion annual savings the USPS claims it can get from reducing service.
Letter: A Postal Retiree’s Plan To Save Six Day Mail Service
The Postmaster General won the public relations battle on March 2 in regard to five day delivery when he announced proposed changes to the postal service over the coming decade, changes that appeared as the main story on all major news networks that evening.
He continues to enjoy the advantage of a well planned orchestrated media campaign.
Taxpayers Might Have to Fund the U.S. Postal Service – Washington Whispers (usnews.com)
USPS News Release: Post Office Boxes Face Competition
Changing an Institution: The U.S. Postal Service | The Kojo Nnamdi Show
Reprinting outdated articles from the national media on the APWU’s web site is simply not enough, I propose the following:
The next congressional break is March 25 through April 11.
- Monday April 5: Make calls, send e-mails, write letters and send faxes to congressional offices to support six day delivery.
- Tuesday April 6: APWU Members take senior citizens, parents to congressional offices to stress need for six day delivery as it pertains to needed prescriptions, government checks and medical supplies.
- Wednesday April 7: Veterans visit congressional offices to stress the importance of six day delivery necessary to receive much needed medications mailed from the VA, medical supplies, correspondence as it relates to years of service and other related matters and that all important retirement and disability check.
- Thursday April 8: Locals hold informational rallies at congressional field offices to support six day delivery.
- Friday April 9: National, State and Locals rally in Washington D.C to preserve six day delivery and visit congressional offices.
” Postal Pete ”
Pete Countryman
Elizabethown, Kentucky 42701
USPS Retired 30 years of Service
Proud APWU Member of 30 years
Reply to Postal Pete from the national APWU Communication Department
Thank you for your recent e-mail. I appreciate your concern about promoting the union’s message regarding USPS proposals to reduce mail delivery to five days per week and to implement other major changes to the nation’s mail system.
Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, the mainstream media often is simply not interested in the union’s views. Even when the media expresses interest, it frequently treats our views in a perfunctory manner, if at all.
Please rest assured that the national union is making a concerted effort to tell our side of the story.
On March 2 and in the days immediately following the USPS announcement, APWU President William Burrus was interviewed by the New York Times and the Washington Post.
We also provided statements and background to other mjor news outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, CNN Radio, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters.
In addition, we were interviewed by lesser-known news outlets that focus on government, such as the Federal Times, Government Executive, Federal Employee News Digest, the Bureau of National Affairs, as well as numerous local general-interest newspapers.
Ironically, the editorial writer for the Washington Post conducted a second, lengthy interview with President Burrus before writing an anti-labor editorial that excluded any mention of the union’s concerns. The response we submitted was not published.
In addition to our “public relations” efforts, we will continue to wage our fight in the political arena. The APWU Legislative and Political Department has encouraged union members to contact their U.S. representatives in support of House Resolution 173, which urges the Postal Service to continue six-day delivery. (See www.apwu.org/news/webart/2010/10-019-h_res_173-100308.htm) Our legislative efforts will continue and will evolve as the battle develops.
We also have posted “talking points” for use by locals in support of their efforts to oppose five-day delivery and other cutbacks. (They are posted in the Members Only section of www.apwu.org. Our records indicate you are no longer a union member, so unfortunately you will not be able to view them there.)
I commend you for your continued commitment to postal workers, and encourage you to participate in efforts by your local to win support from legislators in your area.
Sally Davidow
American Postal Workers Union Communications Department
USPS Presentation On Proposed 5-Day Delivery Operations
USPS Presentation on 5-Day Delivery Operations, Reasons, stakeholder and mailer issues at last month’s MTAC meeting
Download PDF file on presentation
Union Rejects USPS Call For Five-Day Delivery, New Business Model
APWU News
APWU President William Burrus condemned USPS proposals to reduce mail delivery to five days per week, saying, “It would be the beginning of the demise of the Postal Service.” The USPS outlined the five-day delivery plan and other proposals at a conference March 2.
“The assertion that the Postal Service must initiate major changes in its business plan to survive a grave crisis is false,” he said. “It masks the central cause of USPS financial difficulties: the congressionally-imposed requirement to pre-pay retiree healthcare obligations.
“Absent this crippling financial burden, the Postal Service would have experienced a cumulative surplus of $3.7 billion over the last three fiscal years, despite declining mail volume, an economy in chaos, and electronic diversion,” the union president noted.
“The USPS has achieved unprecedented savings through productivity increases, a series of cost-cutting initiatives, and sacrifices by workers,” he said. More than 100,000 jobs have been eliminated through attrition over the last two-and-a-half years, Burrus pointed out, and workers have begun paying an increased share of health insurance premiums.
“The requirement to pre-fund retiree healthcare payments would shift more than $75 billion from postal rate-payers to the federal budget over a 10-year period, at a rate of more than $5 billion per year,” Burrus said. “This requirement is undermining the Postal Service.” The pre-payment obligation is a provision of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), which Congress approved in December 2006. No other federal agency bears this burden.
“Postal management has intensified its financial problems by offering excessive worksharing discounts to major mailers and by subcontracting work at exorbitant costs,” Burrus said. Worksharing discounts are given to mailers that pre-sort and pre-barcode their mail, he said, but the discounts exceed the costs the Postal Service avoids when the work is performed by mailers. “Subcontracting is another important source of waste and inefficiency,” he noted.
“We call for a thorough investigation by the Office of the Inspector General into the expanding role of subcontracting and the inflated costs associated with them,” he said.
“Furthermore, we reject any effort to pollute the collective bargaining process with threats of draconian work-rule changes.” Contract negotiations will begin in August.