CHICAGO, July 16 -- RR Donnelley today issued the following statement by William L. Davis, chairman, president and chief executive officer, on the initial recommendations of the President's Commission on the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) discussed today in a hearing held by the Commission on Capitol Hill. The official recommendations are due to be released in a formal report to the president later this month. RR Donnelley, based in Chicago, Ill., is the largest commercial user of the USPS. "These initial recommendations represent a serious and thoughtful effort to try to improve the USPS. The Commission and the Bush Administration deserve substantial credit for taking a monumental first step on the road to postal reform. Their work has provided a strong foundation for a vigorous debate on what changes need to be made to keep the USPS healthy and financially sound in the coming decades. "The Commission took the right approach in recommending more flexibility. The USPS needs to become more efficient and better able to achieve the lowest combined cost. In combination with the bedrock principles of universal service and focus on delivery from the post office to the home, these ideas will help move the USPS toward a more modern postal system that best serves families, small businesses and other customers. "The challenge now is not to lose this window of opportunity for reform. The USPS is in dire need of improvements to meet the modern needs of the marketplace and avoid large rate increases in 2006. Let's not let this strong beginning by the Postal Commission go to waste. The president and Congress should chart a deliberative, but speedy course toward consideration of reform legislation that incorporates changes that allow the USPS to adopt most innovative and cost-efficient approaches to serving their customers." Last December, President George W. Bush established a Commission on the USPS. At the request of the president, James A. Johnson, vice chairman of Perseus, L.L.C., and Harry Pearce, chairman of Hughes Electronics Corporation, serve as co-chairs of the Commission. The nine-member bipartisan Commission is charged with identifying the operational, structural, and financial challenges facing the USPS; examining potential solutions; and recommending legislative and administrative steps to ensure the long-term viability of postal service in the United States. The Commission is required to submit its report to the president by July 31, 2003.