1 KENTUCKY PRESS ASSOCIATION Postal Regulatory

Transcript:1 KENTUCKY PRESS ASSOCIATION Postal Regulatory:
1 KENTUCKY PRESS ASSOCIATION Postal Regulatory Update Mark Acton Vice-Chairman, Postal Regulatory Commission January 21, 2011 Word of Thanks David Thompson, Executive Director Kentucky Press Association 2 Summary of Discussion United States Postal Service (USPS) and Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) USPS Plan Envisioning America’s Future Postal Service Significant Recent PRC Activity Change in Frequency of Delivery: 6 to 5 days (limited discussion) Elimination of Saturday delivery Exigent Rate Case 3 Summary of Discussion PRC Reports on USPS Workforce Legacy Costs PRC Review of Postal Service Retiree Health Benefit Fund Liability PRC Pension Cost Special Study 4 U.S. Postal Service Self-supporting government enterprise Linchpin of $1 trillion mailing industry Workforce of 600,000 Only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation 150 million residences, businesses and post office boxes Annual revenue more than $67 B USPS relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund operations no taxpayer funding Delivers nearly 40% of the world’s mail Retail network of 32,000 locations usps.com the most frequently visited federal government website If a private company, would rank 29th in Fortune 500 5 Postal Regulatory Commission Executive Branch agency charged by the President and Congress to provide independent federal regulatory oversight for the USPS 5 Commissioners, each appointed to a 6-year term by the President and confirmed by the Senate Agency Chairman designated by President No more than 3 members of the Commission may be from the same political party 6 Postal Regulatory Commission Mission: Ensure the transparency and accountability of the Postal Service and foster a vital and effective universal mail system Develop and maintain regulations for a modern system of rate regulation Consumer Price Index (CPI) cap Consult with the Postal Service on delivery service standards and performance measures Prevent cross-subsidization & other anticompetitive postal practices Promote transparency & accountability, & adjudicate complaints Consult with the State Department concerning international postal policies 7 USPS Plan: Envisioning America’s Future Postal Service March 2, 2010 -- Postal Service unveils plan: Concerted Government Affairs/Public Relations Initiative USPS projects mail volume will continue to shrink: 177 B pieces (2009) to 150 B (2020) Competition (UPS and FedEx) Economic recession Electronic diversion 8 USPS: “Envisioning America’s Future Postal Service” Loss of $8.5 billion in 2010 No action -- cumulative shortfall of $238 billion by 2020 As much as $123 billion in savings during that same time period through aggressive cost cutting and increased productivity