Affordable Mail Alliance Calls on Postal Regulatory Commission to Dismiss Postal Service Rate Hike Request

The Affordable Mail Alliance, a coalition of industry stakeholders seeking to prevent the postal service from being allowed to implement its latest rate hike proposal, today held a press conference to announce the filing of a motion with the Postal Regulatory Commission to dismiss the USPS proposal, a move supported by AMA member organization Magazine Publishers of America.

In a statement released today, MPA president Nina Link said, "This is a major step in MPA's fight against the USPS' unlawful attempt to shatter the price cap. MPA supports all efforts by this unprecedented alliance of the mailing community to continue to litigate aggressively. We hope the Postal Regulatory Commission grants the motion without delay."

The AMA press release reads as follows:

Wrong on the Law, Wrong on Policy, Wrong on the Economy, and Wrong on Jobs: Affordable Mail Alliance Calls on Postal Regulatory Commission to Dismiss Postal Service Rate Hike Request

Washington, DC — The Affordable Mail Alliance (AMA) today called on the Postal Regulatory Commission to dismiss the Postal Service's rate hike proposal filed on July 6, 2010. AMA's motion argues that the rate hike violates the cost controls Congress put in law to protect consumers and that the Postal Service needs to cut costs and modernize rather than raise rates an average of ten times the rate of inflation.

"Allowing the Postal Service to raise prices above the Consumer Price Index in this case would nullify the single most important safeguard for mailers and the public in the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 ("PAEA")," AMA argues in its motion. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), an author of the 2006 law, has already said the proposed increases do not qualify for an exception under the standards established by Congress.

The Affordable Mail Alliance (AMA) is a coalition of over 700 large and small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and associations of mailers that together account for a majority of the mail sent in the United States. Its members employ over 7.5 million workers and contribute nearly one trillion dollars to the economy each year.