[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17456]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               POSTAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND ENHANCEMENT ACT

  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I take a few moments to comment on S. 2468, 
the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which will reform the 
postal laws of the United States to guarantee its success into the 21st 
century. The United States Postal Service faces several long-term 
financial challenges unless something is done. In the last 5 years 
alone, the first-class mail, which accounts for over half of all postal 
revenue, has dropped dramatically. The continued downward spiral of the 
Postal Service is linked to the increased use of faxes and e-mails to 
communicate. As these different ways of communicating and doing 
business increase, it is important to preserve delivery to every 
address--making it a universal service--which this bill guarantees. As 
a rural State, Montana is a primary example of a State that needs this 
assurance. The Postal Service is the only service provider available in 
many parts of Montana and allows Montana residents to stay in contact 
with the rest of the country and the world.
  Additionally, the Postal Service faces such problems as reacting to 
needed price changes. Currently, the Postal Service takes 18 months to 
react to price changes, which makes it impossible to respond to market 
conditions. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act would allow 
the Postal Regulatory Commission the power to institute emergency price 
increases due to unexpected circumstances. An Anthrax attack, that 
recently occurred, is an example of this circumstance. In addition, 
this bill would free up $78 billion over a period of 60 years by 
repealing the provision of the Public Law 108-18, which states that 
overpayment to the Postal Service must be kept in an escrow account. By 
releasing these funds, the Postal Service would be able to diminish 
rate increases, help pay off the debt owed to the U.S. Treasury and 
help fund health care liabilities for their employees. These funds are 
also need to be put toward employee salaries and benefits, which make 
up 76 percent of the Postal Service costs.
  One Montanan wrote me recently saying, ``Postal Reform is critical to 
the nearly 3000 Postal Employees in Montana and the thousands of others 
who rely on the USPS as a foundation for their occupation.'' I could 
not agree more. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the Postal 
Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2004.

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