The American Business Media released the following statement:

Just hours ago, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the House Committee with jurisdiction over postal matters, introduced legislation that would implement sweeping, structural reforms of the United States Postal Service. ABM immediately obtained and reviewed the bill in detail; while it includes some provisions ABM has advocated for, it also includes a potentially-damaging provision for ABM members.

As written, the legislation would require an annual 5% increase for all “underwater” postal products, on top of annual CPI increases, until the product covers at least 90% of its attributable costs. Given the current data on periodical cost coverage and the anticipated CPI increases, this provision would likely result in a more than 20% increase in postal rates over the next three years for ABM members. This provision is simply untenable, and over the last few hours, ABM has already begun to mobilize its resources and align with allies to fight it.

As you may know, over the last two years, ABM has advocated for postal reform measures in Washington both as an association and as an Executive Committee member of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service. In these efforts, ABM has sought a legislative solution that would address structural issues at USPS, fix the overpayment of its pension system, and put the Postal Service on a stable path for long-term viability. As the financial situation at USPS has worsened, these efforts have grown more critical.

We are already leveraging ABM’s coalitions and contacts to address this issue on your behalf, and we will continue to update you as developments warrant.

Regards,

Clark Pettit
President & CEO
American Business Media