For Immediate Release Contact: Jim Morrell
May 10, 2012 jmorrell@hdmk.org  (202) 789-4365

Postal Service’s Grim Second Quarter Numbers
Show Need for U.S. House to Act

Washington, DC – In the wake of today’s announcement that the U.S. Postal Service lost $3.2 billion in the 2nd quarter of this year, the U.S. mailing industry urged the U.S. House of Representatives to take immediate action on postal reform legislation.

“These grim numbers should reinforce that the House of Representatives needs to address postal reform now,” said Art Sackler, Coordinator of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service a coalition of businesses and industries tied to the mailing industry.  “More than 8 million private sector workers will have their jobs put at-risk if Congress fails to enact fundamental reforms of the Postal Service.”

The coalition is urging the U.S. House to take up legislation authored by Representatives Darrell Issa and Dennis Ross that would make sweeping reforms of the U.S. Postal Service.

Last month, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan postal reform bill authored by Senators Joe Lieberman, Tom Carper, Susan Collins and Scott Brown.  That bill would return overpayments that USPS has made into the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) in order to help the Postal Service encourage early retirements, and help lay the groundwork for streamlining the postal system to more accurately reflect the decreased volume of mail.

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The Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service consists of business mailing associations and companies – including magazines, newspapers, advertisers and catalogers, financial services, telecommunications, insurance and other statement mailers, high-tech businesses, small businesses of every kind – and their suppliers – paper, printing, technology, envelope manufacturing, mail services and other companies, who understand the essential role played by the U.S. Postal Service and want to see it sustained, reformed and strengthened to meet the demands of the future.