Release No. 06-3                                     May 3, 2006 

Contact:    Robert E. McLean

                bmclean@mailers.org

                703-418-0390

Mailers Council Statement on the Postal Service’s Rate Case Filing

WASHINGTON, DC, May 3, 2006—Mailers Council Executive Director Robert E. McLean today issued the following statement in response to the Postal Service’s decision to file a rate case to increase postage rates in 2007.

“The decision by the Postal Service to raise postage rates early in 2007 comes as no surprise, and serves as another reminder that without passage of the first comprehensive postal reform bill since 1971, we can expect large, annual rate increases every year for decades to come.

“There are many reasons why this increase is necessary, including higher fuel and labor costs. But there are two reasons why the size of this increase is larger that necessary. One is the escrow account, which requires the Postal Service to collect and set aside more than $3 billions annually into a fund, money that may not be spent without congressional approval. The second is the military pension policy that created an unprecedented and indefensible change in federal policy, making a federal agency pay the military pension costs of its retirees—a stamp tax pure and simple.

“HR 22, the postal reform bill now waiting action by a congressional conference committee, would eliminate these two policies—saving stamp buyers billions of dollars every year. We urge the White House to join with the chairmen of the two postal oversight committees and support passage of these bills. Otherwise, they will be held accountable for helping price the Postal Service out of existence.”

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. The Mailers Council believes that the USPS can be operated more efficiently, supports efforts aimed at lowering postal costs, and has the ultimate objective of containing postal rates without compromising service.

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