Reston, VA – NPES President Thayer Long lauds the unanimous voice vote approval of H.R. 5714, Postal Service Reform Act of 2016, by the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform (OGR) Committee on July 12, and congratulates its congressional sponsors for their initiative in crafting a bipartisan bill that seeks to put the U.S. Postal Service on a sustainable course for the future. The legislation was announced as a discussion draft in June by its co-sponsors, OGR Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-3-UT), Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-7-MD), and their OGR Committee colleagues, Congressmen Mark Meadows (R-11-NC), Gerry Connolly (D-11-VA), and Steve Lynch (D-8-MA).

Summarized, H.R. 5714 strives to enhance and improve the Postal Service's revenue and efficiency, streamline its governance and, most notably from a financial standpoint, integrate postal retiree healthcare with Medicare, with the last provision essential to the success of the legislation's objectives according to OGR Chairman Jason Chaffetz. 

"This legislation still needs refining and NPES will continue to participate in that process, but passage by the OGR Committee is a very important next step toward achieving the goal of enacting it into law by the time this Congress adjourns," said Long. "The logistically complex and ubiquitous U.S. Postal Service is an essential component in the $1.4 trillion mailing industry that brings printed communication and commerce to consumers nationwide," he added. "We simply can't afford to let it founder financially or become so expensive that it becomes an unaffordable option for advertising and delivery of products and services in an exploding e-commerce market. Print and packaging continue to have an important and effective role in the evolving age of digital communications and commerce."