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USPS News: Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2001
Remarks of John (Jack) E. Potter
United States Postmaster General
Before the USPS Board of Governors
October 2, 2001
United States Postmaster General
Before the USPS Board of Governors
October 2, 2001
Good morning Mr. Chairman and Governors. Three weeks ago, most of us here today were in this same room as we prepared to discuss the leases of our Priority Mail Processing Centers. Then, suddenly, the world changed, as those in the back of the room witnessed, with horror, the attack on the Pentagon.
Most importantly, no postal employee was injured, even though some were at work in the Pentagon and others were working at New York City's Church Street Station - a building within the shadow of the World Trade Center and one that suffered significant damage.
Once we knew that all of our employees were safe, we immediately focused on doing what we do best - moving the mail.
The acts of terror in New York and Washington led the people of America to question many of their assumptions about the simple and routine activities that are part of their everyday lives.
With that in mind, the Postal Service was acutely aware of the need to continue daily mail delivery and, where it was interrupted, restore it as quickly as possible.
And the appearance of our letter carriers making their rounds in every community possible, both on the day of the attacks and over the next week, was important in reassuring the nation that the fabric of everyday life, although damaged, was intact.
Our response was consistent with the words of the President and the Mayor of New York, who pointed out the importance of restoring a sense of normalcy to the American people.
We set up a command center and began moving the mail to ground transportation, doing everything we could to contribute to this important goal.
Three days after the attack, on September 14, Governor Ballard and I visited New York City. It was clear that our employees had rallied together and did a lot of good things to get mail delivered to residents and businesses in lower Manhattan. There was a resolve to get local operations back to normal, to get the job done. As a native New Yorker, I understand their sentiments.
Not only am I proud of the employees who were personally involved in the New York, Washington, D.C., and Somerset County Pennsylvania areas, I am proud of how our team of 800,000 pulled together to reroute mail from grounded aircraft to trucks and trains. Our highway contractors pitched in. FedEx offered us their ground fleet, then whatever space was available when their planes returned to the air. And AMTRAK put on hundreds of extra rail cars to help us.
And when the FAA gave the go ahead to resume flights, we were ready to put as much mail as possible back on board. Within a short period, mail was moving crisply throughout the country.
I'd also like to single out the staffs of the Inspection Service and Inspector General. They focused on the safety of our employees, the security of mail in damaged buildings, and have been assisting other federal law enforcement agencies in their investigations.
As you know, the economic impact of the attacks went beyond New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. For the last three weeks our revenue is $400 to $500 million below plan and is also below the same period last year. Over that same period, our mail volume may be down as much as one billion pieces to last year.
Our Church Street Station, we estimate, suffered damage in excess of $25 million, and 29 vehicles were destroyed by falling debris. Again, I cannot emphasize how fortunate we were that no postal employees were injured. Officials from the White House and the Office of Management and Budget asked us to file a report on our losses. We have. And we will continue to update that information as we make a full accounting of the economic impact on postal finances.
Many, many people contributed to our efforts to continue providing our best to the American people following the September 11 attacks. Some of them, who will be joining us this later morning for our "United We Stand" stamp unveiling ceremony, are with us in this room. I ask them to stand as I call their names:
Ken Weaver, our Chief Postal Inspector, and his team, including J.J. Skidmore, Inspector in Charge of the New York Division.
Our Inspector General, Karla Corcoran, and her team.
Paul Vogel, Vice President, Network Operations Management
Henry Pankey, Vice President of Retail and Delivery.
The Washington, D.C. Capital Metro team of Sylvester Black, Jerry Lane, Mike Furey, and Tim Haney.
And representing our logistics and purchasing people, Tony Pajunas and J.D. Young.
And there's Sheryl McCullough and Janice Somerset who helped us to activate our command center at a moment's notice, and Nancy James who did so much to make counseling available to our people throughout the country in the aftermath of the attacks.
And there are two others who are not here today Pat Mendonca and Faye Arvonio, who remain at work at the federal task force headquarters.
Thank you all.
Ten days ago, when I testified at a Senate hearing, Senators Akaka, Stevens, and Cochran acknowledged the important contributions the Postal Service made following the attacks. They, too, recognized the larger role of the Postal Service in keeping Americans in touch by binding the nation together and helping to drive the economy.
I would like to share a short video which captures the work of our employees, particularly those in the New York and Washington areas, in serving the nation in the days following last month's tragic events.
In closing, I'd like to ask everyone here to join me in honoring two other very special guests. Patricia Jenkins and Linda Washington. Ms. Jenkins and Ms. Washington are two clerks who were on duty at Washington's ground zero - the Pentagon. Patricia, Linda and the other six employees at our Pentagon retail unit made sure the entire postal staff was safe, linked arms, and, heads held high, made it to safety.
They stood, united, along with the rest of our nation.
Chairman Rider, that concludes my remarks.
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