Printer Friendly
USPS News: Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - As A Matter of Record
September 14, 2001
Release No. 01-077
Halted Postal Board Meeting Finalized by Telephone
WASHINGTON - Tuesday's 8:30 a.m. meeting of the U.S. Postal Service's governing board in Washington was halted in mid-session, after 75 minutes, by the terrorist events happening in Washington and New York. In a surreal turn of events, the plane crash bombing of the Pentagon, across the Potomac River from Postal Service headquarters, was in view from the meeting room where the Board of Governors were convened. The meeting was abruptly adjourned and the headquarters building evacuated in short order. The official agenda of the meeting was not concluded prior to adjournment. In a later telephone conference call, the Board reconvened and acted on the remaining agenda items.
At the opening of Tuesday's meeting, Postal Board Chairman Robert F. Rider announced that, in closed session on Monday, the Governors had authorized the filing of a postage rate case. The rate case will be filed with the Postal Rate Commission in the coming two weeks.
Other actions concluded prior to the premature adjournment included the Board approving a preliminary appropriation request of $31 million to cover the cost of providing Free Matter for the Blind and Overseas voting materials for FY 2003. It was noted that the Postal Service requested Congress to pay $957 million as a supplemental appropriation for FY 2002. This payment is to clear amounts due for services delivered between 1991 and 1998. In 1993, Congress set up a 42-year installment repayment plan as part of omnibus budget reconciliation efforts. Facing the harsh economic realities of the times, the Board felt it was appropriate to ask for the full amount due.
The Board further approved the FY 2002 Operating Plan and Capital Plan. The FY 2002 Operating Plan is based on a projected net loss for FY 2001 in the range of $1.65 billion and projects a net loss of $1.35 billion for FY 2002. In addition to the year-end financial performance, the Operating Plan is based on projected mail volumes and revenues, increases in costs, resource requirements and productivity improvements. The Operating Plan calls for only 3.2 percent increase in expenses, which is the second lowest expense growth since Postal Reorganization.
The low expense growth is the result of a reduction of 13,000 work years below FY 2001, which is in addition to a reduction of over 21,000 career employees in FY 2000 and FY 2001.
The Capital Investment Plan calls for $2.4 billion and reflects continued constraints on new capital projects, including continuing a freeze on new facilities.
The Board authorized an increase of debt by $2 billion, raising the authorized borrowing to $11.3 billion for the year ending September 30, 2001. Discussion of the Financing Plan for FY 2002 was deferred to the October Board meeting, which will be held in Washington, D.C.
The projected net losses for FY 2001 and FY 2002 would increase the cumulative deficit since 1971 to $6.7 billion.
In a telephone conference vote held two days later in order to complete the agenda topics, the Board approved funding to extend leases that will support the Postal Service's Priority Mail Processing Center Network (PMPC) through March 2005. The network, consisting of 10 locations nationwide, provides the space needed to process Priority Mail for 160 postal processing and distribution facilities.
###