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Audio News Release: Postmaster General John E. Potter Press Briefing
ANR – Sound on Tape
05 August 09

The US Postal Service released its third quarter results today at the Board of Governors’ meeting.

Quotes from Postmaster General John Potter:

  1. Our people are doing a spectacular job as they work to reduce costs in every corner of the organization.
  2. I am particularly proud of the postal team when it comes to service and customer satisfaction. In the face of severe economic pressures, service performance has not faltered.
  3. There is more that must be done by the Postal Service and by Congress. The Postal Service will continue to reduce expenses with the goal of eliminating another $3.8 billion from our base in 2010.
  4. Our ultimate success also depends on structural change. The biggest element being our ability to move from six-day delivery to five-day delivery.
  5. This payment is very unusual. If we were part of the federal government, we would not be prefunding retiree health benefit trusts.
  6. Today we have some 630,000 career employees. Our peak was 803,000 career employees back in 1999. And we’ve been steadily managing our workforce to match the changes that have occurred over the years.
  7. Well, I’m very encouraged about getting legislation passed.
  8. We’re going to continue to deliver the mail. That will go on uninterrupted.
  9. Payroll will not be interrupted. Our employees will receive their pay for the hard work that they perform.
  10. The Postal Service doesn’t want to do anything that would disrupt this economy.
  11. We are the hub of an industry that employs some eight million Americans.
  12. And, we’re working very, very hard to provide access in whatever form we can. Our Internet site is being improved, so we want people to be able to think of their computer as their Post Office.
  13. We’re reviewing everything in the Postal Service to determine whether or not there are opportunities to cut costs without affecting service to the American public.

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/news.

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.