Business Management - Government/Governmental

The stage is being set this month for another round of argument and angst over the future of the U.S. Postal Service when Congress returns to work in September.

The latest squabble erupted after the USPS, which this summer reported a net loss of $2 billion in the second quarter of 2014, announced plans to cut 15,000 jobs and consolidate 82 mail-processing centers in 2015. The Postal Service has already consolidated 141 mail-processing facilities since 2012.

The USPS continues to drown in red ink, despite an increase in revenue in the quarter ending June 30. A big part of the losses stem

Half of the Senate on Thursday called for a one-year hold on the U.S. Postal Service’s plans to close mail-processing plants, saying the move should come as part of any legislation to avoid another government shutdown.

Fifty senators signed a bipartisan letter to top members of the House and Senate appropriations committees opposing USPS plans for closing up to 82 plants and eliminating up to 15,000 jobs starting next year.

"At a time when our middle class is disappearing, the loss of 15,000 good-paying Postal Service jobs will harm our local communities and economies," the lawmakers wrote.

Tech-ni-Fold Ltd. has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against F. P. Rosback Co., based in St. Joseph, MI. Tech-ni-Fold's complaint states that Rosback's TrueScore-Pro products infringe Tech-ni-Fold's US Patent No. 6,572,519.

The U.S. Postal Service assessed Southern California Edison $7.6 million in penalties for not keeping its address lists up to date and Sears $1.1 million for allegedly violating the rules governing how folded self-mailers should be sealed, according to the lawsuits.

The two companies filed appeals of the USPS decisions on June 18 with the U.S. District Court in Washington. Both are represented by Venable LLP, a major Washington, DC law firm.

A funny thing happened to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on his way to pushing an aggressive June legislative agenda that included a modified postal delivery schedule. He lost his Virginia House seat in this week's GOP primary election to economics professor Dave Brat.

The surprising defeat led the The Washington Post to opine that House legislative activity would now cease, as Republican members would “avoid doing anything—literally anything—that could be used against them” in their mid-term reelection bids this summer. Today, Cantor stepped down from his House leadership position.

Cantor and House GOP leadership devised a plan to institute five-day mail

A funny thing happened to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on his way to pushing an aggressive June legislative agenda that included a modified postal delivery schedule. He lost his Virginia House seat in yesterday's GOP primary election to economics professor Dave Brat.

The surprising defeat led the The Washington Post to opine that House legislative activity would now cease, as Republican members would “avoid doing anything—literally anything—that could be used against them” in their mid-term reelection bids this summer. Today, Cantor stepped down from his House leadership position.

Cantor and House GOP leadership devised a plan to institute five-day mail

Raising the U.S. gasoline tax is out as a way to shore up the Highway Trust Fund. So is taxing drivers based on the number of miles they clock. A plan to use taxes on companies’ overseas profits hasn’t gone anywhere.

So House Republicans are now turning to the money-losing U.S. Postal Service.

The Postal Service lost $1.9 billion in the quarter ending March 31 while the fund supporting the nation’s highways, bridges and transit may run short of money to pay its bills as soon as July, according to the U.S. Transportation Department.

The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) issued amended rules (May 20) governing the advisory opinions it is required to issue on service changes proposed by the U.S. Postal Service. The new rules establish an expedited pre-filing discovery period to give mail stakeholders distinct opportunities to weigh in on the effects of changes and result in more robust proposals for the PRC to deliberate in the 90 days it has to deliver its opinion.

“There is a sentiment that the PRC should move more quickly to allow the Postal Service to move more quickly, so we came up with a new set

The announcement last year drew little notice: The long-troubled United States Postal Service was teaming up with equally distressed retailer Staples Inc. to offer mail services in 82 of its office supply stores.

The postal workers union views the deal as an attempt by management to escalate closings of post offices and privatize operations through a national retailer.

The union said the Staples counters should be staffed by postal service workers who are paid much better than store clerks, receive specific training in mail handling, and take an oath to protect the mail.

Postal reform hit yet another snag on Wednesday after a scheduled House committee vote on a new piece of legislation was postponed due to a lack of bipartisan support.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, announced the delay just hours before a markup of his new bill overhauling the U.S. Postal Service was scheduled to begin. Issa introduced a bill to mirror a proposal put forward by the White House in President Obama’s fiscal 2015 budget proposal.  

Becca Watkins, a spokeswoman for Issa, said the chairman’s offering of the White House plan “represents an