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Bailout the Post Office?

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    Rep. Dennis Ross tries separate the 'facts and myths'

  • Duration 4:38
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On an issue of importance to everybody because we weighed every day congressman Ross not for the bills but for the good stuff that comes from the post office thank you so much.

For joining us today.

What you Jamie what is how dire is they have financial condition of our US post office.

Well it's it's pretty dire and -- idea.

They're not meeting -- their financial obligations and unfortunately because of the decline in first class mail -- increase in labor costs.

The Postal Service is going to be insolvent.

At the end of this fiscal year which is October 1.

And we have to make some major changes to reform not only the system.

Above the but the Postal Service but also the type of business model but they've been using we have to change significantly.

Who has authority to do that.

Well the that the these -- it's congress is is the one who empowers the Postal Service to operate.

The postal accountability in a for a enhancement act that was passed in 2006.

-- more power to the Postal Service so that they could be continue to be self sufficient so they wouldn't use taxpayer dollars unfortunately.

Again because of the decline.

In first class mail there's been a sharp decline in revenues would they'd be increase in in expenses.

And so you've got a a situation where they will not be able to meet their obligations.

By the end of the fiscal year and I would say by the first of the calendar year next year we're gonna have some dire situations where they may not even be able to make payroll.

You mentioned -- -- mail volume -- climbing and my information says that mail volume declined 13% or 25 billion pieces.

Compared to -- -- 1008.

Why is that.

Well electronic media you know is is become a lot more dominant people are paying your bills by not electronic media.

They're did the the Postal Service still you know goes into a 150 million homes today that they deliver mail to the infrastructure is -- -- And it's not a matter of whether they're competing against FedEx are competing against UPS actually goes to -- organizations.

Actors -- dependent with the Postal Service because the Postal Service contracts with FedEx to deliver their mail.

By way of airplanes UPS also.

To deliver some of their mail by way of trucks.

Post office delivers the last mile up some of the deliveries for UPS and and for -- so it's a good relationship unfortunately.

The Postal Service again -- 80% of their cost going to labor has not adjusted to the market changes that we've seen as a result of technology.

So how much money are we talking about -- -- and should -- be privatized.

I don't think it should be privatized.

But it can be downsized to make more efficient we have a lot of implicit a de duplication.

In the processing centers we know that the Government Accountability Office has issued reports saying that they've got overcapacity.

In their processing centers we could close some of our post offices which politically is not one of those that that they have the safest things to do because when that happens people call me if so why -- you close in my post office.

But if it's not making money if it's not if it's not at least.

-- meeting -- you know its expenses that we ought to reconsider having it.

But there ways to do this -- -- we can deal with -- existing retail outlets and put post offices in there -- there -- -- grocery store drugstore or someplace.

-- people frequent on a regular basis we can put a post office in there we can do it cheaper than a standalone.

Facility.

We can.

We use technology more for reform for for the post office.

But again talking to come back to having to deal with the labor costs of the post office -- to -- congressional proposals starting in place are there any.

Oh yes.

Congressman paralyzed from California has just -- -- -- reformation bill.

Couple weeks ago which I have cosponsored that sets up a us several.

-- sections.

To allow for.

A commission to look at the closing of post offices.

Saving a billion dollars a year in in not consolidating postal processing facilities closing post offices that are not -- performing well.

And also creating an authority similar to what Washington DC had when it was having insolvency problem so that the of forty would then take over.

And start managing the business.

As a business.

The other things we're looking at is quite frankly going from a six a five day delivery service many people don't wanna hear that.

But unfortunately if you can't make it go with six days you got to reduce your costs and so.

There -- and I'm a major well postal reform bill out there that carry -- card from -- has.

Senator Collins and and the senate has one as well so this will be the issue after we resolve the debt ceiling hopefully we will do that soon but this will be the main issue that you'll see.

Confronting the our our our congress and in the next three months.

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