Winter 2023 - 56

THE GCA DESK
THE LONG AND
Winding Road
Narrow election margins offer both challenges and
opportunities
BY NORA WEISER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GCA
RAFE MORRISSEY, GCA VICE PRESIDENT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Nora Weiser
Rafe Morrissey
ith the midterm elections mostly decided at press time,
greeting card consumers and the broader mailing
industry face two distinct phases for legislative opportunity
moving forward. The first is the intense and active lame-duck
session that began in the middle of November. The second
will be the new Congress that will convene in January with
a different cast of characters and a new party in control of
the House.
Our focus in the first phase is to engage with Congress in
W
the lame-duck session in the hopes of getting a new review
of postage rate limits included in the year-end funding bill.
Meanwhile, the new Congress
will offer a broader range of
opportunities. We may have to
continue the fight for a review of
rate limits, but a new Congress
offers chances for additional
reforms to further secure USPS'
financial stability while preserving
traditional mail.
The broader mailing industry
is still determining its agenda,
but options include limiting
rate increases to once a year,
recalculating USPS legacy
liabilities to the Civil Service
Retirement System (CSRS) to
correct overpayments, and further
expansion of USPS services to broaden the revenue base.
The GCA has determined that clarifying the role and
responsibilities of the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC)
56 Winter 2023 | STATIONERY TRENDS
to ensure effective regulatory oversight will be its top
priority. Improving the USPS' financial condition will not
matter without a strong regulator to hold USPS management
accountable and ensure that captive mailers are protected
from excessive rate increases.
While the outcome of the control of the House and Senate
is still being determined, we will certainly have to work
with new leadership on the House and Senate oversight
committees. Chairwoman Maloney (D-NY) lost her primary,
and House Ranking Member Rob Portman (R-OH) will retire
at the end of 2022.
A new Congress offers
chances for additional
reforms to further
secure USPS's financial
stability while preserving
traditional mail.
We will be working to convince
the new leadership of the
committees that greeting cards
and traditional
mail
is
still
relevant and, indeed, essential to
the long-term stability of the USPS.
Postmaster General DeJoy's focus
on optimization of the network for
parcels and a reluctance on the
part of Congress to address postage
rate issues are big challenges.
If a new review of rate caps is
undertaken, the GCA will have to
prove its case that a reduced cap
can meet an accurately calculated
USPS revenue requirement and
sustain it in court.
All of these challenges underscore that securing a better
future for the citizen mailer did not end with the passage of
the Postal Service Reform Act, but has only just begun. S T
Winter 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Winter 2023
