Copyright 2000 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company
The Houston Chronicle
July 07, 2000, Friday 3 STAR EDITION
SECTION: A; Pg. 26
LENGTH:
243 words
HEADLINE: POSTAL SERVICE;
Bill would
reduce Postal Rate Commission's oversight
SOURCE: Staff
BODY:
No public good can come from the
Postal Service Modernization Act that would
reduce the authority of the Postal Rate Commission and increase
the Postal Service's ability to engage in unfair competition
with private mailers.
The proposed legislation pending in Congress would
allow the U.S. Postal Service to raise rates without the oversight of the Postal
Rate Commission and enable it to adjust rates when it wanted to drive unfavored,
private-sector competitors out of business.
The Postal Rate Commission,
whose commissioners are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate,
serves as the public's watchdog over the Postal Service and must approve rate
increases before they go into effect.
The Postal
Service Modernization Act would water down the commission's
rate-approving authority. A study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers concluded that the
proposed legislation would lead to a 60-cent first class stamp by 2008, or 3
cents higher than that anticipated under existing laws and regulations. This
unreasonable increase would cost citizens and small businesses $ 3 billion in
higher postal prices.
The Postal Service should not engage in unfair
competition with private-sector companies and certainly should not discriminate
against small mailers by offering better deals to bigger mailers.
The
Postal Service should have more oversight rather than less in order to determine
how best it should carry out its service to the public.
TYPE: Editorial Opinion
LOAD-DATE: July 8, 2000 
