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166 IRET Congressional Advisory 1 (2003)

handle is hein.taxfoundation/iretcgadv0163 and id is 1 raw text is: INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH ON THE ECONOMICS OF TAXATION
IRET is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) economic policy research and educational organization devoted to informing
the public about policies that will promote growth and efficient operation of the market economy.

December 22, 2003

Advisory No. 166

A CHECKLIST FOR POSTAL SERVICE REFORM
Executive Summary
This paper offers a checklist of some of the features to look for in future legislative proposals
aimed at reforming the U.S. Postal Service. The checklist is organized under four headings: cost
management, rate regulation, core versus non-core products, and transparency. These areas are
emphasized because of their importance in determining whether the Postal Service adequately
performs the public service mission Congress has given it: collecting and delivering non-urgent
letters and periodicals throughout the nation while maintaining reasonable standardized rates
and relatively uniform service. Better cost management is essential if the Postal Service is to
improve its financial outlook through means other than higher rates and lower service standards.
Careful rate regulation is needed to protect consumers within the postal monopoly. Legislation
that focuses the Postal Service on its core market will help the agency carry out its mission while
avoiding problems elsewhere in the economy. Transparency and accountability are vital at a
government-owned enterprise like the Postal Service to compensate for the lack of normal market
discipline. This checklist can help distinguish between legislative proposals that would be better
than current law and those that would be worse.
Introduction

Since the mid 1990s, several members of
Congress  have   introduced  bills that would
significantly change many of the statutory rules
under which the Postal Service operates. Although
none of these bills has so far passed either house of
Congress1, interest remains high.  The Postal
Service, a Presidential Commission, and the White
House have all called for statutory changes. In
April 2002, the    Postal Service  issued  its
Transformation Plan, which contained a number of
legislative suggestions.2  In July 2003, after
studying the government agency's problems, the
bipartisan President's Commission on the U.S.
Postal Service put forward its own set of legislative
recommendations based on its findings.3 (The

Transformation Plan and the President's Postal
Commission also made many suggestions that the
Postal Service could implement under current law.)
In December 2003, a year after the Presidential
Commission was established and following a
meeting between the President and the Commission
members, the Administration urged Congress to
enact comprehensive postal reform to ensure that the
United States Postal Service can continue to provide
affordable and reliable universal service, while
limiting exposure of taxpayers and operating
appropriately in the competitive marketplace.',4
Although the Administration's statement does not
address specifics, the Commission's report is highly
detailed.

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