In a letter to the U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission today, ABA urged the PRC to reconsider its decision to make the statutory consumer price index cap the floor for future rate increases, rather than the ceiling as the statute requires. ABA’s comments came as part of the PRC’s 10-year review of the system.
ABA pointed out that the current structure of the postal rate system is working, and warned of the consequences of the PRC’s proposal. “Accounting for compounding, postal rates could get dramatically more expensive under the PRC proposal,” ABA said. “It is not difficult to imagine postal rates 20 to 30 percent higher than they are today once American mailers travel down the five-year toll road the PRC would build through this proceeding.”
Given that the banking industry is one of the largest users of the Postal Service, ABA noted that pursuing that course of action would cause banks to shift communication to digital channels and in turn hasten the service’s decline. ABA emphasized that its members are committed to stable pricing and common-sense postal reform that would allow the USPS to continue operating in an efficient, self-sustaining and affordable manner.
