White House Backs Privatization. The Trump Administration is recommending privatization of the U.S. Postal Service and it is likely that the report the President’s Postal Service Taskforce will issue August 10 will suggest steps toward that goal, based on the Administration’s comprehensive report to reform the federal government, called Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century. Legislative action would be needed to make changes of the scope the White House is recommending.

According to the report, putting the Postal Service in private hands would lower its cost structure, enable it to adapt to changes in customer needs, and ensure it can make business decisions without political interference. Another plus is that it would have access to private capital markets for capital improvements.

The White House acknowledges transforming the USPS to private ownership would be challenging. It notes that other posts around the globe have successfully privatized when profitable at the time of the transition. “To reach profitability, most international postal operations have gone through significant restructuring, including shrinking their physical and personnel footprints. In some cases, foreign governments have had to absorb legacy retirement liabilities in order to prepare a postal operator for sale,” the Administration stated.

CAPS Yielding to EPS. Mailers are being encouraged to migrate as quickly as possible to the Enterprise Payment System (EPS)—the new U.S. Postal Service payment processing platform. Effective September 1, 2018, new payment accounts must be established through EPS. And, effective April 1, 2019, eligible Centralized Account Processing System (CAPS) accounts must be migrated to EPS, which supports multiple payment options, including mobile check deposit, and enables customers to manage multiple USPS business functions through a single account.

Eligible products and services include First-Class Mail, Letters, Cards, and Flats; Priority Mail; First-Class Package Service; USPS Marketing Mail, Letters, Flats, and Parcels; Parcel Select; Media Mail; Library Mail; Bound Printed Matter; Periodicals; International Products; Business Reply Mail; Every Door Direct Mail, submitted via hard copy; eDoc (Mail.dat/Mail.XML); Postal Wizard; Intelligent Mail small business tool; PO Box; Caller & Reserve Services; and Address Quality Products (AEC, AECII and ACS).

Customers can continue to use CAPS for products and services that are not yet supported in EPS, such as Electronic Verification System, Parcel Return Service, PC Postage, Scan Based Payment, Merchandise Return Service, Official Mail Accounting System, Premium Forwarding Service Commercial, Share Mail, and Intelligent Mail Barcode Accounting. Learn more at https://postalpro.usps.com/eps.

House Approves STOP Act. In an effort to curb the opioid epidemic, Sen. Rob Portman, R-OH, is pushing for swift Senate action on legislation to make it harder to ship fentanyl (synthetic opioids) through the U.S. Mail. The House passed the bill June 14 by a vote of 353-52.

Under the Securing the International Mail Against Opioids (STOP) Act—H.R. 5788—by 2021, the U.S. Postal Service must follow the same procedures private shipping companies such as FedEx and UPS must adhere to by transmitting advanced electronic data (AED) on all international packages to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The USPS currently collects this data on about 40% of inbound international packages and must increase that to 70% by the end of the year if the bill is enacted.

According to the House sponsor, Mike Bishop (R-MI), the legislation requires the USPS to refuse shipments for which AED is not furnished and also directs the State Department to strengthen international postal agreements and to ensure that any future agreements preserve the United States’ ability to require AED on all international mail shipments.

Planning to Boost Capital Spending. The USPS plans big increases in capital spending over the next decade, with initiatives that include upgrading its aging vehicle fleet and investing in more information security and resources. The USPS projects average annual capital spending cash outlays of $2.4 billion for fiscal years (FYs) 2018–2028, compared to an average of $1.4 billion for FYs 2007–2017.