Press Release

For Immediate Release

Contact: Robert E. McLean

Release No. 03-2

703-418-0390

April 3, 2003

bmclean@mailers.org

Mailers Council Praises Passage of Bills to Avoid Retirement Overpayment

WASHINGTON, DC, April 3, 2003--Today the House approved legislative already passed by the Senate to prevent the Postal Service from overpaying its retirement obligations by $78 billion (S 380). Passage will reduce the Postal Service’s expenses by billions, allowing it to delay the next postage increase by two years. In response, Robert E. McLean, executive director of the Mailers Council, the nation’s largest coalition of mailers, issued the following statement:

“We applaud Congress’ approval of this bill. This is great news for mailers, printers, paper companies and any company that is part of the $9 billion mailing industry. Passage prevents a $78 billion overpayment by the Postal Service--funds that would eventually come out of the pockets of postage rate payers. Eliminating the overpayment also means the Postal Service can postpone an imminent rate increase, so that the next postage increase will likely occur in 2006. That’s especially good news for American businesses still recovering from the recession, and that use the mail the deliver correspondence, publications, parcels, greeting cards and payments.

“A postage increase is never just a penny for mailers. Postage is often their single biggest expense, so a delay in the next increase means a savings of million of dollars. Congress just helped protect thousands of jobs in the mailing industry.”

The Mailers Council is a coalition of corporations, nonprofit organizations and major mailing associations. Collectively the Council accounts for 70 percent of the nation's mail volume.

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