The Free Press, Mankato, Minn., on the postal service:

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April 28, 2012

The Free Press, Mankato, Minn., on the postal service:

The Pryor Times Sat Apr 28, 2012, 12:24 PM CDT

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to take up a large and controversial bill that would shape the future of the U.S. Postal Service. But any legislation emerging from Congress will be a stop-gap measure, not a final solution.

That’s not to say congressional action isn’t important or needed. There is rare bipartisan urgency to pass legislation that would prevent the collapse of the Postal Service. The Senate bill, laden with dozens of amendments, is co-sponsored by a Republican, Democrat and Independent.

The bill — and legislation in the House — includes language that would free the Postal Service from a requirement that it pre-fund 75 years of retirement benefits for its employees in 10 years, something no other federal agency is required to do.

Some of the amendments in the Senate bill would also put a temporary moratorium on the closure of rural post offices and require the Postal Service to deliver mail in a specified amount of time.

Certainly, delivering mail in the time frame promised to customers is a necessity if the Postal Service is to remain viable. Offering slower and fewer services is not a sound business model. . . .

The Postal Service is too important to businesses, individuals and the economy to allow it to dissolve without making every effort to fix it.

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The Free Press, Mankato, Minn., on the postal service:

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