PURPOSE

The Committee will hold a hearing to review the current financial condition of the Postal Service, as well as the urgent need for reform legislation.

BACKGROUND

The Postal Service’s financial condition has been deteriorating over the past decade for three primary reasons: (1) a decline in first-class mail; (2) expenses increasing at a faster rate than revenues; and (3) requirements put in place by Congress in 2006 to make billions of dollars of payments each year to pre-fund retiree health benefits. To conserve cash, the Postal Service has defaulted on more than $40 billion in payments owed to pre-fund retiree health care expenses. However, the Postal Service’s liquidity continues to dwindle and it faces challenges with having enough cash on hand to conduct its essential mission of providing universal mail service. For all of these reasons, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has placed the Postal Service’s financial condition on its “high-risk list” since 2009.

WITNESSES

The Honorable Megan J. Brennan
Postmaster General, United States Postal Service

• Written Testimony

Ms. Margaret M. Cigno
Director, Office of Accountability and Compliance, Postal Regulatory Commission

• Written Testimony

Mr. Chris Edwards
Director of Tax Policy Studies, Cato Institute

• Written Testimony

Mr. Joel Quadracci
Chairman, President, and CEO, Quad/Graphics

• Written Testimony

Mr. Fredric V. Rolando
President, National Association of Letter Carriers

• Written Testimony

DOCUMENTS

• Meeting notice
• Memo

Source: House Committee on Oversight and Reform