-- The USPS, Potter said, is working to improve the quality of work and service, and to leverage the advantages provided by the postal network. He cited the mail-based distribution of DVDs as one example.

-- The USPS is working closely with representatives from the periodical publishing industry to explore new efficiencies.

• Dan Blair, Chairman, Postal Regulatory Commission: The PRC has worked assiduously to promulgate new rules governing ratemaking under the new postal law. The new ratemaking rules were published in the Federal Register yesterday. The new law has changed some of the incentives that govern the USPS, and should result in greater efficiency. The challenge is to focus on the future, rather than reliving the past. The new regulatory process should improve the value of mail-based communication.
  
  -- With the changes in today's communication environment, First-Class Mail is dwindling, as is the USPS' financial base. The burden to pay the costs of the postal system becomes more of a challenge. The question remains: who pays when you have high costs?
  
  -- As far as R2006 is concerned, the PRC examined every alternative to helping affected periodical publishers from suffering burdensome rate increases.
   

• Andy Zipser, Past Vice President, International Labor Communications Association: The Postal Service is the primary medium by which unions and members communicate. For some, it now costs more to post their publications than to print them. Publications are reducing page counts, reducing their frequency of publication, and some may cease publishing. He urged a return to the more "progressive" postal rate structures of the past.
   

• Victor Navasky, Publisher Emeritus, The Nation and the Columbia Journalism Review: The postage costs of The Nation are now three times the cost of the paper on which it's published. Under the new rate structure, the more opulent magazines are paying less. Large volume discounts were given to large mailers for much of what they already do. Congress should instruct the USPS that the rate setting standard should be based on the public interest rather than efficiency. Lower rates should be given to those with little advertising content.
   

• Jeff Hollingsworth, Vice President, Eagle Publishing: The survival of Eagle products is in jeopardy due to the caprice of government, such as is the case with the current round of postal rate increases. The PRC may be responsible for wiping out access to publications of thought and opinion. Publishers have nowhere else to go but to the internet. The only solution is that the Postal Service must be privatized. The private express statutes should be repealed. When the mailbox is finally liberated, everyone will benefit.
   

• Max Heath, Vice-President of Postal/Acquisitions, Landmark Community Newspapers: Community newspapers are far from extinct. They do a better job of providing local news. It isn't just rate hikes, it's also service deficiencies that are problematic.The National Newspaper Association (NNA) has long opposed the efforts by larger publishers to deaverage the costs with the periodical class. The price cap of the new law apply at the class level. Subclass and rate categories can vary more than that.
   

• Hamilton Davison, Executive Director, American Catalog Mailers Association: The postal rate increases on catalogers has been "brutal." Almost all catalogers are being forced into making hard decisions. Catalogers are cutting prospect mailings. This limits the USPS' future revenue potential. Catalog mail should be priced separately. Creative pricing should encourage prospecting. NSAs should be made more available.
   

• David Straus, Counsel, American Business Media: The problem has nothing to do with the coverage of attributable costs within the class. The problem lies with the approach used by the PRC in structuring periodical rates. The USPS and ABM opposed the Time Warner proposal. Periodicals do get a subsidy. Time Warner's problem was that it's subsidy wasn't as much as it wanted. The notion that every piece of mail must recover all its costs is without foundation. Rates should be set with an eye toward larger aggregates.
   

• James O’Brien, Vice President Distribution & Postal Affairs, Time Inc.: The issue of periodical costs, rates, and cost increases is not new. Periodical rates, however, have been out of sync with actual costs. In some instances, the postage paid by some publications has been less than the cost of handling a sack of mail alone. Time Warner and others have been urging the USPS and PRC to adopt a rate structure that required mailers to pay for the services they use.
   

• Mark White, Vice President Manufacturing, U.S. News & World Reports: Even with the changes already made, current periodical rates are not truly "cost-based." There still a subsidy that's being provided. There still is a great deal that smaller circulation publishers can do to improve the efficiency of their mailings. Under the old rate structure, mailers were rewarded for not mailing efficiently.
   

• Joseph Schick, Director Postal Affairs, Quad/Graphics Inc.: Postal rate increases have a negative effect on the use of mail for communication and commerce. We are continually looking for ways to improve postal efficiencies. Printers have striven hard to use productivity gains to offset potential price increases. The new rate structure is intended to provide incentives for mailing more efficiently. Quad is working to help large and small circulation periodicals and catalogs to mail more efficiently to earn the lowest possible postal rates. The new postal law also should allow mailers to better plan their businesses while keeping postal rates contained.
   

• Anita Pursley, Vice President Postal Affairs, Quebecor World Logistics: Quebecor World is working with its customers to facilitate co-mailing. This can help many, but not all, to deal with the R2006 postal rate increases. Co-mailing also allows mailers to better time the delivery of their mail to overcome any time lags. Quebecor World is striving to increase its co-mailing operations and capabilities.
   

• Jerry Cerasale, Senior Vice President Government Affairs, Direct Marketing Association: The USPS and PRC have been moving to fully differentiate the costs and rates of letter-size and flat-size mail for several years. The PRC underestimated the impact its recommended rates would have on the users of larger than letter-size mail. While those who have been adversely affected are looking at more efficient mailing possibilities, many are looking to move out of the mail and do more on the internet. The new law may provide some new opportunties for adding value to mail.

Testimony of James C. Miller
Testimony of John Potter
Testimony of Dan G. Blair
Testimony of Victor Navasky
Testimony of Jeff Hollingsworth
Testimony of Max Heath
Testimony of Hamilton Davison
Testimony of David Straus
Testimony of James R. O'Brien
Testimony of Joseph Schick
Testimony of Anita Pursley
Testimony of Mark White
Testimony of Jerry Cerasale