PMG Jack Potter today testified before a Senate panel responsible for USPS oversight, stressing the need for a “fundamental restructuring” of the Postal Service’s legislative and regulatory framework. He said such changes are “critical to future growth” of the organization.

Potter said the Postal Service supports efforts on Capitol Hill to approve S. 1507, a Senate bill aimed at providing fiscal relief by restructuring the payment schedule USPS is required to make to the Retiree Health Benefits Fund. The proposal does not affect the fund’s obligations to retired postal employees.

Potter also noted the Postal Service supports portions of the bill that require an arbitrator to consider the agency’s financial health in a binding arbitration settlement and another provision that accelerates the completion of a report by the General Accountability Office on the current USPS business model. “This will initiate a necessary and broader debate about the manner in which the Postal Service can continue to serve the American public,” he said.

“The issue is not the mail,” Potter said as he concluded his testimony, adding USPS needs additional flexibility to meet changing mail patterns and a shifting business environment.

“Together, we must identify a new business model,” said Potter. “We must close the huge gap between our revenues and our costs.”

Click here to read Potter’s formal testimony.

source: USPS News Link Extra