The Hill<\/a> – [Trump’s executive order is\u00a0 below].<\/em><\/p>\n
\n4\/12\/18 – By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United\u00a0States of America, I\u00a0hereby order the following:<\/p>\n
Section 1.\u00a0 Policy.\u00a0 (a)\u00a0 The United\u00a0States Postal Service (USPS) accounts for almost half of global mail volume and is regularly cited as the Federal agency with the highest public approval rating.\u00a0 However, a number of factors, including the steep decline in First-Class Mail volume, coupled with legal mandates that compel the USPS to incur substantial and inflexible costs, have resulted in a structural deficit where revenues are no longer sufficient to fund the pension liabilities and retiree health obligations owed to current employees.\u00a0 The USPS is on an unsustainable financial path and must be restructured to prevent a taxpayer-funded bailout.\u00a0 This finding is supported by the following considerations, among others:<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (i)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the USPS has incurred $65\u00a0billion of cumulative losses since the 2007-2009 recession;<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (ii)\u00a0\u00a0 the USPS has been unable to make payments required by law for its retiree health benefit obligations, which totaled more than $38\u00a0billion at the end of fiscal year\u00a02017; and<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (iii)\u00a0 the Government Accountability Office has had the USPS on its high-risk list since 2009 because of a serious financial situation that puts the USPS mission of providing prompt, reliable, and efficient universal mail services at risk.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (b)\u00a0 It shall be the policy of my Administration that the United\u00a0States postal system operate under a sustainable business model to provide necessary mail services to citizens and businesses, and to compete fairly in commercial markets.<\/p>\n
Sec. 2.\u00a0 Establishment.\u00a0 (a)\u00a0 There is hereby established a Task Force on the United\u00a0States Postal Service (Task Force), to be chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, as Secretary and as Chairman of the Federal Financing Bank, or his designee, to evaluate the operations and finances of the USPS.\u00a0 In addition to the Chair of the Task Force (Chair), the Task Force shall be composed of the following department and agency heads, or their designees:<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (i)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (ii)\u00a0\u00a0 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management; and<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (iii)\u00a0 any other department and agency head the Chair may designate.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (b)\u00a0 The Task Force shall consult with the Postmaster General and the Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission.<\/p>\n
(c)\u00a0 The Task Force shall also engage:<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (i)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the Attorney General, on issues relating to government monopolies operating in the commercial marketplace;<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (ii)\u00a0\u00a0 the Secretary of Labor, on issues related to workers compensation programs; and<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (iii)\u00a0 State, local, and tribal officials as determined by the Chair of the Task Force with input from the Task Force members.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (d)\u00a0 The Task Force shall meet as required by the Chair and, unless extended by the Chair, shall be dissolved once it has accomplished the objectives set forth in sections\u00a03 and 4, as determined by the Chair, and completed the report described in section\u00a05 of this order.<\/p>\n
Sec. 3.\u00a0 Evaluation.\u00a0 The Task Force shall conduct a thorough evaluation of the operations and finances of the USPS, including:<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (i)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the expansion and pricing of the package delivery market and the USPS\u2019s role in competitive markets;<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (ii)\u00a0\u00a0 the decline in mail volume and its implications for USPS self-financing and the USPS monopoly over letter delivery and mailboxes;<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (iii)\u00a0 the definition of the \u201cuniversal service obligation\u201d in light of changes in technology, e?commerce, marketing practices, and customer needs;<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (iv)\u00a0\u00a0 the USPS role in the U.S. economy and in rural areas, communities, and small towns; and<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (v)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the state of the USPS business model, workforce, operations, costs, and pricing.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sec. 4.\u00a0 Recommendations for Reform.\u00a0 The Task Force shall develop recommendations for administrative and legislative reforms to the United States postal system.<\/p>\n
(a)\u00a0 Such recommendations shall promote our Nation\u2019s commerce and communication without shifting additional costs to taxpayers.\u00a0 The recommendations shall be developed in a manner that is consistent with the proposed plan to reorganize the executive branch as required by Executive Order\u00a013781 of March\u00a013, 2017.<\/p>\n
(b)\u00a0 Such recommendations shall also consider the views of the USPS workforce; commercial, non-profit, and residential users of the USPS services; and competitors in the marketplace.<\/p>\n
Sec. 5.\u00a0 Report.\u00a0 The Task Force, acting through the Chair and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall submit a report to the President, in coordination with the Directors of the Domestic Policy and National Economic Councils, not later than 120\u00a0days after the date of this order.\u00a0 In its report, the Task Force shall summarize its findings and recommendations under sections\u00a03 and 4 of this order.<\/p>\n
Sec. 6.\u00a0 Administration.\u00a0 The Federal Financing Bank shall provide administrative support and funding for the Task Force.<\/p>\n
Sec. 7.\u00a0 General Provisions.\u00a0 (a)\u00a0 Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (i)\u00a0\u00a0 the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (ii)\u00a0 the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (b)\u00a0 This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.<\/p>\n
(c)\u00a0 This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United\u00a0States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.<\/p>\n
\u00a0DONALD J. TRUMP<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/President-Trump-254x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
4\/13\/18 – Yesterday President Trump issued an executive order to evaluate U.S.P.S. operations. Seemingly, his decision to create this task force was\/is based upon his opinion that Amazons’ deal with the postal service is just too sweet. The Hill has this to say: “President Trump announced Thursday he is forming a task force to look […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17871,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking","last_archivepost"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23141"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23144,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23141\/revisions\/23144"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}