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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Continuing steps to move to a more battery-powered delivery fleet, the Postal Service announced on February 28 that, “after a competitive search,” it had awarded a contract to Ford Motor Company for 9,250 Ford E-Transit Battery Electric Vehicles. However, the agency conditioned starting delivery of the trucks, planned for December, on the “successful completion of the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement…
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There are many human qualities that can be seen two ways, depending on whether the observer believes them to be positive or negative. For example, someone who perseveres is praised by supporters as determined, courageous, and steadfast, but criticized concurrently by skeptics as dogmatic, obstinate, or stubborn. Persons who show self-confidence in the face of challenges are praised as tenacious,…
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In consecutive filings with the Postal Regulatory Commission on February 10, the Postal Service revised two of its competitive product categories, continuing its ongoing restructuring of package services overall. First-Class Package Service In the first filing (docketed as CP2023-113), the USPS announced it will rename First-Class Package Service as “USPS Ground Advantage,” raise its weight limit to seventy pounds, and…
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In an order issued January 25, the Postal Regulatory Commission gave each side of an ongoing argument a little of what it wanted. Accounting The issue at hand is simple: how the USPS should account for the $59.6 billion in “prefunding” obligations forgiven by the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 enacted last April. The answer to that question would…
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