Nine-member commission will identify operational, structural, and financial challenges facing the Postal Service.

The Bush administration announced the creation of a presidential commission on the U.S. Postal Service.

“The nine-member bipartisan commission will identify the operational, structural, and financial challenges facing the Postal Service; examine potential solutions; and recommend legislative and administrative steps to ensure the long-term viability of postal service in the United States,” said a Treasury Department announcement.

The Commission will be co-chaired by James Johnson and Harry Pearce. Johnson is chairman of the board at the Brookings Institution and former CEO of Fannie Mae. Pearce is chairman of the board at Hughes Electronics.

PMG Jack Potter said, “The Commission is good news coming at the right time,” and has the “opportunity to build on the achievements made possible by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 before America faces a postal crisis.”

He added that basic economic assumptions of the USPS business model — that continuing growth in mail volume and revenue would support continued infrastructure growth — are no longer valid because mail volume growth is at risk from competition and technology, while the number of delivery points is increasing.

Potter said the commission is consistent with — and complementary to — the USPS Transformation Plan, to which Potter said the Postal Service remains committed.

“The President recognizes that now is the time to reassess how the Postal Service should adapt to pressure from customers, competitors, and technology and best fulfill its mission in the 21st century,” said Peter Fisher, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance.

The Commission will submit its report to the President by July 31, 2003.