Faced with the threat of running out of cash within the next few years, the Postal Service expects to deliver its plan for a long-term business model to Congress later this summer.
As part of this upcoming business plan, postal watchdogs have urged the USPS to take a closer look at its universal service obligation, a minimum level of service it provides to every address in the country.
Robert Taub, chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, in a keynote address Thursday at the PostalVision2020 conference, stressed that redefining the universal service obligation is the “single most important thing we can do for the Postal Service.”
“Without greater mission clarity, our Postal Service will be set up for frustration, and even risk of failure,” Taub said.
As it stands, the USO leaves much to the imagination. Congress has mandated that USPS make deliveries six days a week in every annual spending bill package since 1982.