Industries Fear Ripple Effect of Proposed Postal Cuts

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Monday, March 26, 2012

Industries Fear Ripple Effect of Proposed Postal Cuts

By RON NIXON

WASHINGTON — Wine wholesalers and amateur beer makers want Congress to repeal a law that makes it illegal to ship alcohol by mail.

Giant insurers like Aegon of the Netherlands want to make sure that the United States Postal Service stays out of the insurance business. And medical supply companies like Medco oppose the post office’s plans to cut Saturday delivery, saying the move would delay medicines and could add to the cost of mail-order drugs.

As Congress begins work this week on legislation to shore up the finances of the debt-ridden post office, companies representing a cross-section of American business are spending millions of dollars lobbying lawmakers to oppose or support various proposals to keep the agency afloat.

In total, lobbying disclosure records show that companies and unions with a stake in a postal overhaul have spent nearly $300 million in the last three years as the financial condition of the post office has worsened, though it is not known how much of that was spent specifically on postal issues.

The service is the backbone of a mailing and shipping industry that employs more than 8.5 million people and supports almost $1 trillion in economic activity every year. The service itself employs 574,000 people.

Nearly every business relies on the post office to deliver packages, advertise services and send out bills. This postal supply chain supports millions of American jobs in fields as diverse as banking, agriculture, media and manufacturing.

Benjamin Y. Cooper, a lobbyist with the Williams & Jensen firm in Washington, and a coordinator for the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, said the level of interest shown in post office reform is understandable, given its importance to the economy.