[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 67 (Thursday, May 25, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5220-S5222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE COMMITMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE

 Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, earlier this month I had the honor 
of joining Linda Springer, the director of the Office of Personnel 
Management, and John E. Potter, the Postmaster General of the United 
States, at a breakfast to kick off the four-day celebration on the 
National Mall celebrating Public Service Recognition Week. The annual 
Mall event is part of the yearly, week-long observance to celebrate and 
recognize public employees sponsored by the Public Employees Roundtable 
at the Council for Excellence in Government. While Director Springer 
and I gave brief remarks to the distinguished guests at the breakfast 
hosted by GEICO, I was extremely impressed by the words of the 
Postmaster General who gave the keynote address. I want my colleagues 
to have the opportunity to read Mr. Potter's words, which so eloquently 
explain why the millions of public servants at all levels of government 
should be recognized for the work they do daily on our behalf.
  Mr. President, I ask that the address of Mr. Potter be printed in the 
Record.
  The address follows.

  Keynote Address--Postmaster General/CEO John E. Potter, May 4, 2006

       Thank you, Chairman Harper, President McGinnis and our 
     special guest, Director Springer.
       I'd also like to take a moment to recognize and thank Tony 
     Nicely, Chairman of GEICO, the sponsor of today's event.
       Tony recently wrote about the efforts of Louisiana GEICO 
     employees to serve their customers in the aftermath of 
     Hurricane Katrina. The local claims office was flooded and 
     many employees lost everything. But they showed up at work to 
     process claims and get those checks to policyholders as 
     quickly as possible--through the mail, of course!
       I know exactly what Tony has experienced. I was in New 
     Orleans the week after the

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     storm and again, last month. If I learned nothing else, I 
     learned about the frailty of the things we build. In the span 
     of a few hours, Katrina broke open levees and brought down 
     entire neighborhoods. Its winds dropped houses on highways 
     and tossed ships on shore.
       In the days and months since, we have seen repeatedly the 
     one thing that could not be conquered by even this 
     unprecedented storm--the human spirit.
       One of the postal employees I talked with told me that the 
     members of his extended family lost eight homes in and around 
     New Orleans.
       Yet, like him, hundreds of our people were back at work 
     almost immediately. Within days of the storm, they set up 
     temporary locations to get social security checks into the 
     hands of thousands of local residents. Where they could, our 
     carriers were back on the streets delivering mail. I know our 
     customers appreciated their efforts to bring normalcy back to 
     a very difficult situation.
       So, let me welcome all of you and let me congratulate the 
     millions of employees from every federal agency, the 
     military, every state, every county, every city, every 
     village--and volunteers everywhere throughout America.
       Wherever you are, you serve your communities and your 
     nation in so many ways. Public Service Recognition Week 
     celebrates each and every one of you. It's an honor you've 
     earned through outstanding efforts--and I salute you.
       When I was asked to join you here, I didn't know that the 
     Postal Service would be at the center of the news. By now, 
     I'm sure you've heard that the Postal Service plans to adjust 
     rates next spring.
       Why? Well, our charter requires us to operate like a 
     business--and to break even. But the Postal Service doesn't 
     receive any tax money to pay for its operations--and we 
     haven't for 25 years. When you boil it down, the American 
     people pay for the operation of the world's largest and most 
     efficient mail delivery system every time they buy a stamp.
       Like each of you, and like every business and government 
     agency in America, the Postal Service is not immune to rising 
     costs. And given our size those costs can really add up. Each 
     year, our 700,000 employees deliver 212 billion pieces of 
     mail to 145 million homes and businesses--and that's growing 
     by about 2 million new addresses every year.
       They work from more than 37,000 Post Offices and drive more 
     than 260,000 vehicles while delivering the mail. Every time 
     the price of gas goes up just a penny, our costs go up $8 
     million a year. And the price of gas has doubled since 2002, 
     the last time we changed rates to offset growing operational 
     costs. You can do the math.
       Our people have a big job and they're doing it better than 
     ever. Through their efforts, service and customer 
     satisfaction have reached record levels. They've helped us 
     improve efficiency six years running--and this year, we're 
     expecting a seventh.
       And by the time the price of a First-Class stamp goes up--
     one year from now--the average increase for that five year 
     period will be exactly one penny a year--and be below the 
     rate of inflation.
       As I said, the Postal Service is required to operate like a 
     business. And we're not alone. Across the board, all 
     government agencies are working to become more business-like. 
     There's a drive for efficiency. There's a drive for keeping 
     costs down. There's a drive for measurable results. There's a 
     drive to provide continuously improving service.
       And that puts us all on the horns of a dilemma.
       That's something I thought about when I had a conversation 
     with Bill Russell a few years ago. Most of you remember Bill 
     as the cornerstone of the Boston Celtics back in the 60's. He 
     was an incredible shot blocker who revolutionized defense in 
     the NBA.
       Bill is still active, although he's traded in his jersey 
     with the big number 6 on it for a suit and tie. He's very 
     involved in mentoring--helping children develop basic skills 
     so they can turn their dreams into reality.
       Bill joined us at a dedication for a stamp we issued to 
     honor and encourage mentoring. When I was talking to Bill, he 
     had a question for me.
       ``Jack, you're part of the government, but there's a lot of 
     business in what you do, right?''
       ``That's right,'' I told him.
       Then he asked me, ``What kind of government do we have?''
       I paid attention in school, so I was pretty confident when 
     I said that we're a democracy.
       But the quiz wasn't over yet. ``What does that mean?'' he 
     asked.
       ``It means one person, one vote, equal rights for 
     everybody, and we elect fellow citizens to represent us.''
       Then Bill told me that our government has evolved over 
     time. It's a function of compromise--everyone comes to the 
     table with their own interests.
       So, at the end of the day, as a government entity, your 
     mission is a dual mission. It's not just to deliver service. 
     It's really much broader than that. It's about compromise. 
     It's about change. It's about focus on mission. But it's 
     about carrying out that mission with a very different 
     perspective than others might bring to it.
       There's an important message there. As Postmaster General, 
     I have to stay focused on numbers--on-time delivery, cost per 
     delivery, customer satisfaction, productivity, and, of 
     course, making money or losing money. That's something 
     everyone in government has to focus on, too.
       That's the business end of things. But, as Postmaster 
     General, I can never forget that my job is about more than 
     just numbers. As a government agency, we can never operate 
     like a pure business--and we shouldn't. There's a social 
     aspect to everything we do.
       We provide a useful and needed service--from the biggest 
     cities to the smallest towns. We keep people in touch. We 
     keep them connected. And we have to make sure we treat 
     everyone equally. After all, our government doesn't belong to 
     us, it belongs to everybody, no matter who they are, no 
     matter where they are, no matter what their circumstances. 
     So, when we make decisions, we have to keep that in mind.
       Yes, we have to manage our budgets. Yes, we have to 
     consider things like return on investment. Yes, we have to 
     make our departments and our agencies more efficient than 
     ever. Yes, we have a lot of scrutiny. And, yes, we answer to 
     a lot of bosses--in my case, 280 million of them--and one 
     boss who can really tell me how I'm doing--my wife Maureen.
       But we can never forget one thing. Behind every program we 
     propose or implement, there are people. There are families. 
     There are businesses--large and small--providing jobs and 
     opportunity for those families.
       Each of them is relying on their government for the 
     services that make so much else possible. And those services 
     don't always lend themselves to a pure profit and loss 
     statement. That's why government is different. And that's at 
     the heart of public service.
       When you choose a career in public service, there are 
     tradeoffs. You'll never make the Forbes list of America's 
     billionaires--unless you hit the Powerball a few times. And 
     if you're like me, you've probably got a ticket in your 
     pocket! You'll never get to exercise a stock option as part 
     of your benefit program. And that corporate jet? Well, I've 
     always found that the Metro is pretty reliable.
       But the satisfaction is priceless. How does it feel to give 
     a child a head start by teaching her to read her first 
     sentence? How do you put a price on the joy of the family 
     whose idea you helped turn into a business? How do you 
     measure the lives saved by the research grant that helped 
     someone find a cure for a terrible disease? And how can you 
     not be moved by the smile of a grandmother when she receives 
     a birthday card from her first grandchild--whether she's in 
     the next town, in a village in the Alaskan bush, or halfway 
     across the ocean in Hawaii?
       You do all of this, and more. As public employees, you have 
     a tremendous responsibility. You have a tremendous record of 
     performance. You represent the very best in public service. 
     You--and everyone in public service--should be proud.
       And at the Postal Service, that's something we think about 
     every day. We have to. That's because we're the one 
     government service that makes a personal visit to just about 
     everyone in the nation, just about every day. For many 
     Americans, we're the daily face of their government.
       So, when they're judging us, they're also judging their 
     government and, to a certain extent, they're judging you. 
     Believe me, that's a powerful motivator for the Postal 
     Service. We don't want to let you down--and we won't.
       We're all about service--and it will stay that way. Service 
     is part of our DNA. It's what we do. It's who we are. I'm 
     proud to say that our people have remained focused on service 
     and brought it to record levels. And that's been reflected in 
     customer satisfaction ratings that are the envy of just about 
     any organization.
       Our history has been about service. We've helped build a 
     great nation and bring its people together. We've been an 
     important part of new business development--something we 
     still do today.
       Think about eBay, think about Netflix, think about Amazon. 
     They're all smart, modern, internet-based companies that have 
     become powerful economic engines that rely on the mail.
       But, as I said, what we do--what we all do--is about more 
     than just a simple business equation. I think of that every 
     day when I hear about quiet heroes, like Mike Miller, a 
     letter carrier from a suburb of New Orleans.
       Mike rode out Hurricane Katrina in his houseboat. After the 
     storm, he saw total destruction everywhere. With a friend, 
     Mike took his inflatable, motorized boat and responded to 
     cries of help for four straight days, ferrying hundreds of 
     people from rooftops to higher ground.
       In one case, Mike stopped when he thought he heard sounds 
     coming from a house that was almost completely submerged. 
     With no way in, he pulled his boat to the roof, yanked off a 
     vent pipe and yelled down. He heard a faint response and, 
     with his friend, frantically pulled off roof tiles, cut 
     through the beams, and dropped into the attic.
       Groping through the darkness, heat and water, he discovered 
     an elderly woman, barely alive. They lifted her through the 
     opening in the roof and brought her to safety. Looking back, 
     Mike said, ``I was just doing what had to be done.''
       To Mike Miller, and to so many others like him, I say, 
     ``Thank you!''
       When I think about people like Mike, and every one of our 
     employees who bring their best to the job every day, I know 
     we can meet just about any challenge that comes our way. And 
     Mike's not alone. There are

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     people like him all across the government. People serving 
     people. People willing to do what it takes--and then some.
       In closing, let me recognize the men and women of the 
     Postal Service, and every government employee, from the 
     smallest villages, to the largest cities; from every county, 
     every state and every federal agency.
       You make our nation and your community a better place with 
     all that you do. You have earned the recognition you are 
     receiving this week. I salute you and I am honored to be one 
     of you.
       Thank you.

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