PrintApril 30, 2004
Statement by Azeezaly S. Jaffer
U.S. Postal Service
Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications
The United States Postal Service is pleased that the U.S. Congress is focusing its attention on postal legislative reform. Our 34-year-old business model is under increasing pressure and can't be sustained. While we continue to make great strides - service is at record levels, as are customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction - we are significantly constrained by the limits of our current legislative framework.
That guiding legislation was based on assumptions that are no longer valid, and a society whose technology has changed dramatically. Legislative reform is crucial for the Postal Service to continue to serve this country as Congress intended and Americans require.
So we look forward to working with the House and Senate as they prepare postal reform bills in the coming weeks. As the Postmaster General and the Chairman of the Postal Board of Governors have said, there are critical issues that we believe should be addressed by any postal reform legislation:
First, provide strong guidance to the Postal Service regulatory body regarding a pricing plan that accurately reflects costs over which we have no control, such as the price of fuel, our expanding delivery network, growth in statutory employee benefits, and wages. That guidance should include the necessary pricing flexibility to meet the needs of a modern economy and those of the American people.
Second, give the Postal Service the flexibility to address infrastructure and labor costs. Addressing labor costs includes the ability to bargain over pay and benefits for new employees. Also, we recommend that Congress adopt the Presidential Commission's recommended statutory changes to workers' compensation for the Postal Service.
Third, clearly define the roles of Congress, regulator, board of directors and postal management. Assure that the Postal Service Board of Governors and postal management are not distanced from key decisions, which would reduce management's flexibility to make decisions in a dynamic business environment.
Fourth, repeal the escrow requirement in the Postal Service Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) legislation, and eliminate CSRS military service payments - costs that have always been paid by the U.S. Treasury for all federal agencies.