The following is the text of a press release circulated by the Main Street Coalition. Main Streeters have been very vocal opponents of HR 22, the Postal Modernization Act sponsored by Chairman John McHugh (R-NY) of the House Subcommittee on the Postal Service.

The Main Street Coalition, which represents mailers, has told Congress recent Congressional testimony by the Government Accounting Office (GAO), predicting mail volume and revenues losses for the United States Postal Service as a result of electronic communications, does not justify a major legislative overhaul of the nation's postal system. The group urged an independent review of the potential consequences of e- commerce and e-mail upon the USPS.

In a letter released today and sent to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, the Coalition raised seven points for Congress to consider about the GAO data, the subject of an October 21st hearing of the House Government Reform Postal Service Subcommittee. The committee is considering H.R. 22, a major postal reform bill, which the Coalition opposes.

John T. Estes, Executive Director of the Main Street Coalition sent the following letter, dated Nov. 5, regarding The Postal Modernization Act of 1999 (HR 22), to United States House of Representatives:

On October 27, 1999 a "Dear Colleague" letter headed "Are You Ready To Deliver the Bad News" was sent to your office seeking support for HR 22. With "few exceptions" the letter contends business groups, mailing organizations and others support the Bill. Please note among those opposing the Bill are members of the Main Street Coalition consisting in part of the National Consumers League, the American Bankers Association, the American Business Press, Newspaper Association of America, Computer & Communications Association, Greeting Card Association, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the Coalition of Religious Press Associations. Main Street members account directly or indirectly for over 40% of the annual mail flow of the USPS. Other opponents of the Bill include United Parcel Service, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the American Postal Workers Union.

The Dear Colleague letter assumes that the competitive impact of electronic commerce and communications will shortly and seriously erode first class mail volume at the Postal Service and cripple its financial viability. Citing "GAO research" the letter asserts that the USPS will lose 30% of its revenue, or 17 billion dollars, and in the near future the first class stamp could rise to 50 cents. You should know that:

1. There was no GAO independent data, but rather only USPS information upon which the GAO relied and which it characterized for rate making and other purposes as being of questionable integrity;
   
   
2. When revenue goes down, costs go down. The 17 billion-dollar figure fails to reflect that. In addition there is no recognition of increased Postal Service volume and revenue from priority mail and parcel post resulting directly from e commerce;
   
   
3. The 17 billion dollar figure is the total amount of revenue predicted to be lost if all bill payments and notices were handled electronically and yet the Postmaster General testified that only 1% of such material is currently so processed;
   
   
4. Letter volume grew in the 1980s/ 1990s despite heavy fax use and lower phone rates;
   
   
5. The prospect of increasing the cost of a first class stamp to 50 cents (which would realize a 17 billion dollar revenue gain in a single year) would be totally unnecessary;
   
   
6. Under current law higher rates cannot be charged letters to rural America ... USPS must charge a uniformly geographic rate for first class letters; and
   
   
7. Creation of a private law corporation under HR 22 with taxpayer money whose Board of Directors is to be appointed by the USPS Board of Governors, to compete in the private sector is a highly questionable proposal requiring much more thought and analysis.