Mail Reform

Postal reform cleared another hurdle last month when the Senate passed its version of the bill by a voice vote. A conference committee will work to hammer out the differences between this bill and the House of Representatives version passed last July.

Michael Makin, president of the PIA/GATF, hailed lawmakers for taking a major step towards modernizing the U.S. postal system.

"Senate passage of postal reform is a huge victory in the printing industry's long quest for a major legislative overhaul of this country's postal laws," Makin said in a statement. The bill, he continued, "takes steps to ensure that future postal rate hikes will be both more affordable and more predictable, allowing the printing industry to continue serving customers efficiently and successfully."

A key element of the bill, which would ultimately help stave off large future rate increases, relieves the USPS of its obligation to place more than $3 billion per year—money that previously overfunded its retirement accounts—into an escrow account. It was the sole cause for the January postage increase.

Some retirement costs would be handed over to the Treasury, increasing an already high U.S. deficit, which could prompt President Bush to veto the bill.