The U.S. Postal Service is asking mailers for comments by Nov. 1 on a plan for the structural change of the postal system to meet the challenges of serving the American public through the rest of this decade.
The plan, called the Comprehensive Transformation Plan, is designed to serve as a long-term blueprint for the future of the USPS. The agency is working on the plan at the request of Congress and the U.S. comptroller general's office. The plan will be presented to Congress and the General Accounting Office on Dec. 31.
As an interim step, the USPS has issued a paper titled “An Outline for Discussion: Concepts for Postal Transformation.” The paper describes the framework and process it is using to prepare the plan.
Through a Federal Register notice on Oct. 9, the USPS invited comments and suggestions from all interested parties to help complete a plan that serves the public interest and advances public engagement in shaping the future of the postal system.
Those responding should e-mail their comments to [email protected]. Those wishing to send written comments should mail them to Julie S. Moore, Executive Director, Office of Transformation, Strategic Planning, Room 4011, U.S. Postal Service Headquarters, 475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC 20260-1520.
Postmaster general John E. Potter said that comptroller general David Walker, the USPS Board of Governors and a senior management team have agreed on a three-phase approach that will emerge from this plan and is proposed in the paper:
o Phase I will identify the transformative actions the USPS can make under current law.
o Phase II will build on the work of Rep. Dan Burton, chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, and committee members Reps. John McHugh, Danny Davis and others to identify moderate legislative changes that would enable the postal service to realize continued productivity improvement and contribute to providing universal service at affordable rates.
o Phase III will identify the long-term and significant structural changes that might be considered, in working with Congress and the executive branch, to strengthen the ability of the USPS to improve services and manage its infrastructure efficiently during a time of rapid market change.
When speaking to the House panel earlier this fall, Potter said that “development of this transformation plan is one of my highest priorities. … We are continuing our work with postal stakeholders, including Congress, to complete this plan. Of course, we expect this to be a living document, as our discussion with Congress and other stakeholders continues.”
