Congress Could Soon Deliver the Postal Service Its Biggest Blow Yet

[Triana]

. . .

Congress has potentially found a new way to constrict USPS: hamstring the agency by taking away its ability to make any major decisions whatsoever.

In addition to the postmaster general and his deputy, any significant proposal affecting postal operations must be cleared by the agency’s board of governors. Of the nine presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed positions, only four are currently filled.

Absent congressional action, that number will fall to three on Dec. 8, and the board will lose its voting quorum. Board Chairman Mickey Barnett, a Republican and former senator from New Mexico, will be forced to step aside next week. His term officially ended Dec. 8, 2013, but current law has allowed him to stay on for one extra year.

Because Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe and Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman are counted as members of the governing board, six of the 11 positions are filled. If Barnett -- who President Obama has re-nominated -- is not confirmed by Dec. 8, the board will no longer have the majority it needs to approve anything.

THE REST:

http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2014/12/congress-could-soon-deliver-postal-service-its-biggest-blow-yet/100277/?oref=dropdown

[Turbineguy]

1. It's a successful government operation,

arguably the more efficient postal system in the world. That's why it must be destroyed.

[pa28]

9. It will be sabotaged until it fails. That's the plan.

[Wounded Bear]

2. All part of the master plan...

[fadedrose]

3. No, please, no no no................nt

[okaawhatever]

4. Thanks for the heads up on this. I imagine the repubs will go back to their idea of having Office

Max subcontract all the postal operations or some such nonsense.

[TheNutcracker]

7. Exactly. A humiliated work force can be trusted with the mail?????

[summerschild]

8. One of the first things stressed to new Postal employees is the "sanctity" of the mail.

You can literally lose your job for picking up a stamp that has fallen loose to the floor if you pocket it. They are very serious about protecting the mail that has been entrusted to them. I've been out a few years now (retired) but the large offices used to have catwalks in the ceiling where postal inspectors could observe the workroom floor without being seen. They were used to prevent theft of and from mail.

Think Staples is going to take the same care?

[truedelphi]

5. Does anyone know how much the 2007 Congress cost US Post Office when they

Forced the Post Office to accept huge discounts Congress offered to the Biggies like Amazon and Time Warner, and slammed the small business owners with much higher rates?

And it had so many repurcussions. As the co owner of a small publishing firm, we often give up in getting book orders, as once the customer realizes they can get our books through Amazon, with free postage, why would they pay the same price PLUS shipping from us. Then we get only a small margin of profit on the books that Amazon sells - something like $ 3.40 per book sold rather than $ 10 per book sold.

[onehandle]

6. Lazy Obama voters strike again. nt

[mackerel]

10. are we going to be stuck with UPS & Fedex?

[mountain grammy]

11. Yep.. $5 to mail a letter.

[mackerel]

12. businesses will just pass the price on to

the consumer

[ReRe]

13. Here's what's going to happen:

... USPS will be privatized. Whenever they think they've handled that transition, they will merge with one of those you mentioned (say UPS), and and after another period of transition, they will merge with the other (FedEx.) And prices will double after they make each move, while they tell us how much we are saving.

[woo me with science]

14. K&R