Aloha, and mahalo Sylvia for that wonderful introduction. I also want to extend my appreciation to your president, Wally Olihovik, and all your fellow NAPUS members for inviting me to speak this morning.

When I place a stamp on a letter, I marvel how far the delivery of mail has come over the 225 years since the Continental Congress first limited the delivery of letters or packets by special messengers.

You are a vital part of an intricate network that serves about seven million customers a day and delivers mail to nearly 138 million homes, businesses and post office boxes every year. Americans expect timely delivery of their mail six days a week, and you meet that challenge. Our country's post offices have long been the meeting place for neighbors; a lynchpin for businesses; and for many communities – a citizen's only contact with the federal government.

Over the 26 years that I've been in Congress, I have always sat on a postal or civil service committee. I hold our nation's postmasters in the highest regard, and I want you to have the tools and resources needed to manage your post offices in an effective and efficient manner.

That is why I continue to urge the Postmaster General to improve your consultation process and allow you to take a more active and constructive role in managing your individual facilities.

Just last week I introduced S. 678 – the Postmasters Equity Act of 2003. The list of cosponsors is impressive – Governmental Affairs Committee chairman Susan Collins, Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, and Senators Inouye, Jeffords, Mikulski, Sarbanes, Durbin, Johnson, and Carper. You will be pleased to know that a House companion bill will be introduced shortly by Representative John McHugh, chairman of the Government Reform Committee's Special Panel on the Postal Service. With this kind of support, our bill should move quickly.

My new measure modifies the bill I introduced in the 107th Congress – S. 177 – which enjoyed bipartisan support from 49 members of the Senate. By extending the option of fact finding during the postmasters' consultation process, I believe we will overcome the concerns expressed by the Postal Service with S. 177.

You understand the financial and competitive challenges facing the Postal Service today. These challenges, including the diversion of mail by the Internet and other electronic means, has lead to declining mail volume and less revenue, which affects funds available for capital expenditures. And like you, I understand the need for the Postal Service to maximize performance, maintain financial viability, adapt to competition, and pay closer attention to management and labor issues. That is why last year I worked with my colleagues on the Governmental Affairs Committee to ask the General Accounting Office to review all postal functions. We then asked the Postal Service for a comprehensive transformation plan, which was presented by the Postmaster General at a hearing I chaired in May. I am confident that with the renewed commitment from Congress and the Postmaster General, the Postal Service is on a clearer path to financial stability and financial transparency.

Since the issuance of the Plan there have been obvious changes – a quickly negotiated rate case and a greater willingness by Headquarters to explore innovative pricing policies.

I support a competitive Postal Service based on universal service at an affordable price, which provides adequate funds for capital projects and guarantees the retirement security of its workforce. That was the message I sent the presidentially appointed Postal Commission on its establishment in December. The Commission's mandate is broad, but I believe its purpose must be finely focused to ensure the continuation of universal service.

There are those who have testified before the Commission's first two public hearings who have called for privatizing the Postal Service. I have long opposed any effort to privatize the delivery of the mail in the United States, and I will continue to do so. I believe privatization could unfairly raise costs and undermine service for rural areas and for postal districts far from major transportation centers such as Hawaii. We cannot take the chance that postal workers could end up shouldering any budget shortfall brought on by lost revenues if mail delivery were privatized.

I am working to guarantee the financial stability of postal operations and the retirement security of all postal workers.

I have cosponsored Senator Collins' bill, S. 380, which allows the Postal Service to alter the way it pays into the Civil Service Retirement System. Enacting this legislation will guarantee rate setting stability and provide the Service with the ability to pay down debt and invest in its operations.

Like you, I want to make sure the Postal Service of today remains competitive tomorrow, and I am pleased to be in a position to support you. As we continue to look at the future of the Postal Service, I will work with my colleagues on the Governmental Affairs Committee to protect your future and your rights as the managers of our nation's post offices.

A couple of years ago, the General Accounting Office called postal employees the Service's "most valuable asset," and I agree. I am proud to be on the front line to help you achieve a responsive consultation process through the Postmasters Equity Act.

Again, mahalo nui loa, thank you very much, for the opportunity to speak before you this morning. I applaud your hard work and dedication in making the Postal Service the best mail system in the world.