USPS working with Congress for future sustainability
The U.S. Congress is reviewing postal reforms that have been heavily scrutinized by Post Master General Patrick Donahoe. Legislation put before Congress includes measures that will affect how the U. S. Postal Service will be able to sustain itself and continue to serve the public. The continued tension between the postal service and lawmakers is having consequences on how the organization will adapt to amendments to its budget.
Providing more online access
Many of the past budget cuts have pushed the USPS to expand its online features. Direct Marketing News explained that during USPS' 2012 Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions, the postal service gave online merchants a 2 percent postage discount on standard and first class mailings if they included mobile barcodes, such as QR codes. Since last year, the organization has been working to integrate digital communications with direct mail, hoping to spur business interest. With fewer financial resources, the postal service may invest more heavily in technology to provide services to the public.
USPS looks toward internal reform
So far during the current summer session, the House has not addressed many of the key points the postmaster general had asked for in the drafted reform bill. The postmaster general told Direct Marketing News the USPS needs a health care plan for its employees, a Federal Employees Retirement System refund, five-day delivery and the ability to create long-term change for newly hired employees.
The question Donahue posed in front of Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is whether the reform will produce $20 billion in savings for the postal service by 2016. He emphasized the importance of removing prefunding for health care and the retirement system from the reform bill, explaining it would save the organization $8 billion dollars in annual costs and provide better health and retirement benefits.
The House still has time to work on the reform bill, but meeting the requirements recommended by the postmaster general is expected to be a slow process, if it happens at all. Donahue explained that much of the future of the postal service is in the hands of the lawmakers. If the USPS suffers further budgetary setbacks, companies that need address verification to make sure their marketing materials are properly received can look to alternative options. Online mailing software is a resource that many businesses can utilize to handle direct mailing needs.