(Washington, D.C.) - Concerned with the state of disrepair and the exorbitant cost of the federal mail system, Congressman Philip M. Crane has introduced legislation to privatize the United States Postal Service. The legislation, introduced as H.R. 2589, would ensure transfer of all U.S. Government postal service property into a private corporate entity and establish a Postal Privatization Commission to oversee the process. The legislation would also ensure the stability, financial and otherwise, of postal service employees who would benefit from the transfer by receiving stock ownership in the new private postal corporation, acquire ownership rights to any corporate securities issued during the first year, and receive retirement benefits equal to those already offered by the federal government.

“Today’s inefficient postal service has not been able to keep up with the demands of the new age and the technology that has made the old-fashioned mail system obsolete,” said Congressman Crane. “Remember the old excuse, the check is in the mail? This excuse can’t be used anymore because the myriad of electronic mailing options such as faxing, e-mail, and wire transfers have turned the old-fashioned mail system into a nearly instantaneous procedure. The Postal Service has lacked steam in improving itself and keeping up with today’s technological advances. It is, instead, losing steam and its revenues are greatly affected. Our only solution to both improve postal service and rid the federal government of massive financial waste is to privatize.”

H.R. 2589 would do just that but it would also take extra care not to hurt current postal employees. An employee-stock ownership plan (ESOP) would be established to see the transfer of net postal assets to the new employee-owners who would own shares of stock in the new corporation. Any issuance of securities during the corporation’s first year would be issued only to postal employees. Full retirement benefits equal to those already granted under the federal system would also be guaranteed.

A repeal of the monopoly on the delivery of first-class mail would be implemented after five years to allow the employee owners time to adapt to competition. Any competing postal operation, however, would be mandated to offer full and comparable postal service to the model corporate entity. The total estimated operating cost for U.S. postal services last year was $58 Billion dollars.