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Postal News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (202) 268-2155
STATEMENT BY POSTMASTER GENERAL JOHN E. POTTER
BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
June 18, 2002
BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
June 18, 2002
Good morning and thank you Lee for that welcome.
As you all know, at the request of the Senate, the Postal Service put together a Transformation Plan. In that Plan, we outline a number of key issues facing the Postal Service today and in the future. A definition of universal service is one of the key issues outlined in the Plan. So, let me begin by thanking the Brookings Institution for reading the Plan, hearing the call for action and for sponsoring this discussion on universal service.
We are moving ahead with all facets of the Transformation Plan. Some of you, I know, attended the Rates Summit last month which George Omas, chairman of the Postal Rate Commission, and I convened. That meeting generated a number of substantive recommendations for modernizing the ratemaking process.
It was a long overdue first step to bring postal management and the rate commission together in a common forum with our joint stakeholders to explore ways to make ratemaking work better for everyone.
A follow-up meeting will occur at the end of June, where we'll discuss in more depth some of the issues and proposals that were raised in May. The first session was constructive, and I believe we can build on it.
During the course of today, I hope your discussions on universal service will produce new insights and perspectives.
Were we to debate universal service in a constant world, there would be little debate about the definition of universal service. People would naturally say six day delivery, with post offices right where they are today, uniform rates with the sender paying, and satisfaction with the current menu of product offerings.
However, this is simply not the case. The American marketplace is changing at a rapid pace. Technology is moving at warp speed. Consumer needs and expectations are changing with it.
The key question here is what role will hardcopy mail play in the marketplace of 2020. What postal service will be needed 20 years from now? Do the current definitions of universal service make sense in that future environment?
The Postal Service has seen many changes over its short 227 year history. We went from stagecoach to rail, to truck, to airplane, to jet. We went from pickup at the post office to city delivery to rural free delivery, from sender pays to receiver pays, from stamps at a post office, to stamps in vending machines around the country, to stamps at grocery stores and postage over the Internet.
The time is now to chart a course for the future. At the core of the debate about the future is universal service.
The most difficult part of the discussion for many is a reluctance to give up some service enjoyed today.
Whether it is the love affair with a particular post office, or desire for six day delivery because people enjoy meeting and greeting their letter carriers - change is very complex when you are dealing with an organization that daily touches the lives of every American.
But we have changed in the past and we need to continue to change if we are to be relevant in the future.
Let there be no mistake, I believe there is a future for hard copy delivery. I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe that.
Mail is very much a marketable commodity - even in today's technology driven society. Not too long ago, I suspect some of you thought hard copy mail would disappear in a mass migration to the Internet. That is not going to happen.
Mail has a bright future, especially when it comes to developing strong connections and sales opportunities with customers.
I know that many smart direct marketing organizations are moving to customer relationship management, or CRM. And I would submit there is no more effective way to manage and maintain a customer relationship than through the mail.
I hope this meeting is the first step in bringing the debate about universal service to an even broader audience. This debate needs to get beyond those of us who track and follow the Postal Service on a regular basis.
The American public and American business probably don't fully understand universal service. Unless engaged, they won't have a voice in changes that will affect them personally, how they communicate and conduct their business.
The good news is the public takes for granted that their mail will arrive every day, six days a week, regardless of where they live or work, and whether they are rich or poor. Mail is a basic American freedom. In my opinion, we need to keep it that way.
From my viewpoint, the key questions for all of you gathered here today are:
- What role does universal mail service play in the nation and how does it facilitate commerce in the greatest nation in the world?
- How do we preserve universal service while allowing changes to increase its quality while keeping it affordable?
Also, my compliments and appreciation to members of the House of Representatives' Committee on Government Reform.
They are working on a bipartisan legislative proposal that addresses a number of the issues raised in our Transformation Plan.
All these activities -- the rates summit, this meeting on universal service, and the bipartisan legislative proposal -- demonstrate to me that there is growing consensus that the long-term health of the Postal Service needs to be addressed.
But they also demonstrate to me that we all have a stake in preserving universal service for all Americans. We all share the responsibility to continue the momentum that started on Capitol Hill when the Senate asked us last year to draft the Transformation Plan.
I welcome Brookings entry into the dialogue, and hope that others will enter into this very important debate.
I look forward to hearing about your discussions today.
Again, my thanks to all of you for your participation in today's panel discussions. And my thanks to the leadership at the Brookings Institution for convening these discussions today.
Thank you.
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