From the aging and increasingly outmoded nature of the postal network to the rising diversion of correspondence to electronic alternatives, the Postal Service faces significant challenges today. However, these challenges present their own solutions, as well as significant new opportunities for the Postal Service. By modernizing an outmoded postal network and combating technology’s threats with its many opportunities, the Postal Service can ensure not only its own continued viability, but its relevance and value to the nation in the 21 st century.

Coupled with the efforts already underway at the Postal Service, it is the Commission’s view that the reforms proposed in this report can address the financial and technological challenges at hand and produce a stronger and more capable Postal Service. However, one significant challenge remains: The willingness of all parties—from customers to Congress, postal workers to private-sector partners—to support a fundamental overhaul of a vital American institution.

Some changes will be easy to embrace. Customers, for example, will see their postal service enhanced. The public benefit of billions of dollars in annual efficiency savings is self-evident. The vast expansion of retail access to postal services will be a great convenience. Private-sector companies also will see more opportunities to engage in partnerships with the Postal Service in the delivery of the nation’s mail.

Other changes, however, will require extraordinary commitment to the ultimate public benefits of Postal Service modernization. Members of Congress, for example, will be asked to permit the rationalization of a 1950s-era postal network, including the closure of surplus postal facilities in the communities they represent. Postal employees, too, will plainly see one ultimate outcome of an ambitious modernization: A Postal Service that over time requires far fewer postal workers to deliver the nation’s mail.

Rather than undermine the case for reform, it is the Commission’s hope that these legitimate concerns will help guide its successful and constructive execution. The Commission, for example, took great pains to ensure a key leadership role for Congress in the postal facilities realignment process and to suggest a process giving local communities the opportunity to help determine the disposition of “low-activity” post offices.

The Commission is equally aware of the central role that postal employees will play in the success or failure of this modernization effort. In recent years, the nation has been keenly reminded of the extraordinary service these men and women deliver to the nation every day. For this reason, this report focuses significant attention on ensuring Postal Service employees receive compensation comparable to the private sector, creating a more positive workplace climate, ensuring that the Postal Service workforce has the best tools with which to do its job, and establishing financial incentives for contributing to the efficiency, productivity, and service of the institution. Given the significant attrition opportunity on the horizon, the Commission also wishes to note that it is hopeful that the rightsizing of the Postal Service workforce can occur over time through a voluntary process.

Only with the leadership of Congress, the day-to-day commitment of postal employees, and the support of customers and partners can Postal Service modernization succeed. As a result, the fate of the Postal Service will not ultimately be determined by external, insurmountable threats, but by the actions, support, and commitment of the American people, their representatives in Congress, and the men and women of the Postal Service.

Having devoted nearly eight months to studying the extent of the Postal Service’s fiscal dilemma and the trends shaping its future, the Commission urges speed and conviction in support of Postal Service modernization. Without question, an aggressive approach is needed to limit the mounting financial exposure of American taxpayers. But, more importantly, these reforms are essential to upholding the nation’s commitment to affordable and universal postal services.

Yes, the nation’s mailing habits are changing significantly. Many individuals and businesses depend on the nation’s mail system far less today. Others continue to rely on the Postal Service to handle their correspondence in just the same way they have for decades. What the long-term future of correspondence ultimately will be in the Infor-mation Age is anyone’s guess. Far more certain, however, is the continued importance of affordable universal postal service today and for the foreseeable future. Its value remains unequivocal, and its continued provision endures as a defining commitment of this country to each of its citizens.

It has been this Commission’s honor to help shape the future of the mail and the vital American institution that for more than 225 years has ensured its delivery. We are indebted to the members of Congress, Postal Service leaders and employees, customers, partners, and numerous experts whose ideas and assistance have helped inform this report, and through it, we hope, a bright future for the Postal Service as it continues to serve our country.

Forward • Executive Summary

Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 4 • Chapter 6
Conclusion