The Direct Marketing Association yesterday gave its support to Rep. Dan Burton's letter to the White House urging legislative action to address the problems facing the U.S. Postal Service.
Burton, R-IN, is chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, which oversees the USPS.
Burton said in his letter that he is concerned about the agency's ability to continue providing affordable, universal mail service while remaining self-supporting. He also said the agency operates under an outdated statutory framework that does not provide the agency with practical and adaptable solutions to stay competitive.
He said that change is needed and that the president's leadership in this area would be critical to the enactment of any meaningful reforms.
DMA president/CEO H. Robert Wientzen said, “We applaud the chairman's willingness to take such an aggressive stance regarding the need for postal reform legislation. There is no doubt that the postal service is facing a crisis that will materially impact the economy as well as the future of the direct marketing industry and the postal service itself.”
Ed Gleiman, the former Postal Rate Commission chairman who now is spearheading the DMA's postal reform initiative, said: “We consider Congressman Burton's initiative to be a jump-start to a very long and overdue process building on the efforts of Congressman John McHugh [R-NY] over the past several years. … The DMA stands ready to support the chairman's efforts to achieve meaningful changes that will make the postal service more competitive in the rapidly evolving communications and delivery marketplace.”
