Anyone familiar with the Postmaster General’s 10-Year Plan knows that part of the strategy to balance the agency’s books includes not only price increases but cost reductions from improved efficiency in USPS operations. Many readers, particularly noting the changes now underway in the Postal Service’s processing, transportation, and delivery networks, conclude that some of the forecasted efficiency and savings will…
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(Correction: In the recent issue of Mailers Hub News, Issue #181, former Congressman Kevin Yoder was incorrectly identified as Dennis Yoder.) In a recently publicized May 17 letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce, former Congressman Kevin Yoder, now Executive Director of Keep Us Posted, questioned the economic assumptions…
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This article was produced by Merry Law, Mailers Hub’s expert consultant on international mail. Merry may be reached at [email protected] The US Congress has a long history of passing bills related to the USPS. The Postal Service Reform Act (PSRA) of 2022 was the first to pass Congress since the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), passed in 2006. (Congress…
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This article was produced exclusively for Mailers Hub by Stacy O. Stitham and Adam Mooney of Brann & Isaacson. We could easily fill an entire volume about copyright law, with a second devoted to trademark topics. With much less space and time at our disposal, we will focus on a few niche areas that may have particular relevance to a…
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As reported on June 15 by Government Executive, a bill passed by the House of Representatives could reverse precedent and restrict a government agency’s latitude in interpreting and applying the statutes it’s charged with implementing. As stated in the article, “The Separation of Powers Restoration Act (HR 288) would allow federal courts to review all aspects of a law’s implementation…
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On June 12, the Postal Regulatory Commission reopened a docket initiated in 2021 but later suspended while a related matter was being reviewed in federal court. Docket RM2021-2, opened January 15, 2021, was to consider a “PerformanceIncentive Mechanism” to motivate improved Postal Service performance. As stated in the original Advance Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking, the PRC sought “… input from…
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In a paper released May 22, three individuals experienced in the regulatory environment urged reforms be undertaken to revitalize the Postal Regulatory Commission.Authored by Tom Davis, who served in Congress from 1995 through 2008 and was chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, David Williams, formerly USPS Inspector General and a Postal Service governor, and Michael Kubayanda, the…
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Brann & Isaacson are following up their Feb 21 webinar, “Bad News About Sales Tax: The Tax Man Cometh”, with a three-part series that dig further into the issues, details, and pitfalls your company can face as a commercial mailer. On February 21, in their webinar, the “Bad News About Sales Tax: The Tax Man Cometh,” lawyers Martin Eisenstein and…
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There always have been occasional stories about somebody getting a letter or card that a long-dead relative had sent years or decades earlier. Where a piece of mail could spend such an interval was always the object of speculation: in an empty sack, stuck in an old letter case, behind a piece of post office furniture – who knows. More…
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics March 14 release of the Consumer Price Index for February supplied the final figure needed to calculate the CPI-based portion of the pricing authority that will be available to the Postal Service for its anticipated April filing: 3.406%. Part one The agency’s CPI-based rate authority resets to zero after every price filing, so the size…
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