Cohen Introduces Bill to Help U.S. Postal Service Increase Revenue

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-9) today introduced legislation he authored to help the United States Postal Service (USPS) raise revenue to meet its financial obligations, remain open and prevent layoffs.

“These are tough economic times for everyone in America, including the United States Postal Service,” said Congressman Cohen. “The Postal Service can no longer depend on its current system to produce the revenue needed to cover the costs of an ever-expanding delivery network. My bill would enable the Postal Service to sell products other than stamps so they can earn additional revenue, remain open and prevent layoffs.”

The USPS may not be able to make its $5.5 billion payment due at the end of this month and may have to shut down unless Congress takes emergency action. The USPS receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage and services to fund its operations. As a result of dramatic declines in mail volume, the USPS continues to experience significantly reduced revenue and is taking every action to cut costs and streamline operations across the organization in order to sustain universal mail to the American people.

In August, Congressman Cohen sent a letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe urging him to keep six Memphis area post offices open for business considering how important they are to the local community. The six post offices are under review for possible closure. The Congressman later toured several of the post offices to study the issue more closely before taking legislative action to help the USPS. In some countries, Post Offices double as banks or sell insurance or cellphones. In the U.S., the Postal Service is barred from entering many areas but the Cohen measure would help the USPS have broader authority to provide nonpostal services.