U.S. Postal Service
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) delivers more than 170 billion pieces of mail per year to over 150 million addresses and operates more than 37, 000 retail sites across the country. While the delivery performance of the United States Postal Service (USPS) remains at extremely satisfactory levels, the Postal Service is facing serious financial straits and unprecedented operational challenges. Due in part to an increased reliance on electronic communications and stronger competition from private couriers, the overall volume of mail the Postal Service processes has dropped while its operational costs have continued to increase. As the amount of mail the USPS processes continues to decline, the revenue earned by the Postal Service will also fall.
In 2010, the USPS had an operating deficit of $8.5 billion and its First Class Mail volume dropped by nearly 5.57 billion pieces. Were the USPS to run quarterly deficits in 2011 similar to those experienced in 2010, it is expected to exhaust all its capital by late 2011. Since the USPS is a self-sustaining federal agency that is not subsidized by federal, state or local governments, it is responsible for making up for these losses. Since 2002 it has, on average, cut annual costs by $1 billion by reducing its workforce through attrition, holding off on construction of new facilities, consolidating underutilized processing facilities, and freezing the salaries of those in the Service's executive ranks. Unfortunately, these cuts have not been enough to counter the declining revenue.
There have been a number of changes discussed by Postal Service leaders and members of Congress which may be addressed in the 112th Congress. Most notable among these are a proposal that would relax the Postal Service's requirements to pre-fund the health benefit premiums for future retirees and a proposal to eliminate a day of mail service.
For over two centuries, the USPS has performed the invaluable service of linking our nation's homes and businesses through the mail. Congressman Petri takes pride in being an ardent supporter of an efficient, cost-conscious Postal Service, and he remains committed to supporting initiatives that will not only increase delivery services but also improve the financial outlook of USPS in the long-term.
Oshkosh Area Mail Processing Study
On August 2, 2010, USPS announced it would conduct an Area Mail Processing (AMP) study on the consolidation of the mail processing operations performed at the Oshkosh, Wisconsin Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) with those performed at the Green Bay, Wisconsin P&DC. The purpose of an AMP study is to improve operational efficiencies within USPS, while also reducing expenses by reviewing mail volume and making better use of underused resources. Throughout the AMP study, Congressman Petri met with USPS officials, local government officials, and members of Oshkosh American Postal Workers Union (APWU) to ensure that all concerns were heard and taken into consideration by all parties involved.
On November 23, 2010, he spoke at the public hearing and raised questions regarding the methodology of the Oshkosh AMP study and its finding. Shortly after, on November 29, 2010, he wrote to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and requested an audit of the Oshkosh AMP study, which is currently ongoing. However, on April 4, 2011, USPS announced its decision to go forward with the consolidation of the Oshkosh P&DC into the Green Bay P&DC. According to the redacted Oshkosh AMP study, the anticipated total first year savings from the consolidation is $2,094,773, with a total annual savings of $4,654,584 thereafter. While Congressman Petri understands USPS's need to reduce costs and increase its efficiencies, he is concerned that USPS made its final decision before the OIG had completed its audit. If the OIG audit finds any inaccuracies or deficiencies in the study, Congressman Petri will be certain they are addressed by USPS.