Washington, D.C., October 3, 2006 -- The Printing Industries of America (PIA) today reacted to the valiant, yet ultimately unsuccessful, effort of the Senate and House champions of comprehensive postal reform to pass legislation in the waning hours before Congressional adjournment on Saturday. The Coalition for a Twenty-First Century Postal Service, co-founded by PIA, worked into the final hours of the Congressional session to iron out differences between Senate and House bills (S. 1955; H.R. 22) of legislation that would provide the first major overhaul of the United States Postal Service in thirty years. Key provisions in the Senate- and House-passed postal bills address problems in payments for postal employee pensions and tie future rate increases to the consumer price index in order to provide more predictability and affordability for mailing economy. "While Congress did not complete final action on postal reform prior to adjourning for the campaign season, PIA is strongly encouraged by the joint efforts of the White House, Senators, Representatives, and the mailing community to work together to near a final compromise on this legislation vital to our industry and the nation's economy," said Michael Makin, President and CEO of PIA/GATF. "We especially recognize the leadership of Senators Collins, Carper, and Lieberman and Representative Tom Davis for making completion of postal reform a priority in the politically-charged session leading up to pre-election adjournment. It's also key to note that many individual industries and companies ultimately worked in a spirit of cooperation so as to not let postal reform die so near to the finish line." "Although conflicting agendas among stakeholders in the mailing community remain, it will be critical that all parties work toward the goal of comprehensive postal reform until Congress adjourns sine die. Lawmakers must remember that postal reform - or the lack of it - will have serious consequences for the nation's economy, as the mailing economy, of which printing is a primary sector, employs nine million American workers and is nine percent of GDP. "PIA and its members are committed to working in Washington, D.C. and at the grassroots level to achieve meaningful postal reform - our number one legislative priority - this year."