These PRC-recommended rates could be devastating — not only to mail volumes, but to the ability of catalog mailers to communicate with customers and conduct business.

Time is of the essence!  Mailers have only until THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2007, to fax comments to the Governors. 

Here are the steps you should take immediately:

1.  Fax a letter to the Postal Governors no later than Thursday, March 8.  A sample letter is provided below.

          The Honorable James C. Miller III

          Chairman, Board of Governors

          United States Postal Service

          Fax:  202-268-5472

2.  Fax a copy of your Postal Governors letter to the Postal Regulatory Commission:

          The Honorable Dan G. Blair

          Chairman

          Postal Regulatory Commission

          Fax:  202-789-6886

3.  Fax a separate letter to your members of Congress.  A sample letter is provided below or at www.the-dma.org/postal.  To find contact information for your Senators and Representative, go to DMA’s Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/aim/home/.

4.  Send a copy of your letters to the DMA:

          Stephanie Hendricks

          Director, Public Affairs

          Direct Marketing Association

          Fax:  202-955-0085 or e-mail at shendricks@the-dma.org.

[Editor’s Note:  If you are a nonprofit organization, please visit the DMA’s Nonprofit Federation’s (DMANF) Web site at www.nonprofitfederation.org for information relating to how the PRC’s rate recommendations could affect your organization.]

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SAMPLE LETTER

TO POSTAL GOVERNORS

The following is a sample letter that you can use to contact the Postal Governors regarding the PRC’s recommended catalog rates:

The Honorable James C. Miller III

Chairman, Board of Governors

United States Postal Service

475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Rm 10300

Washington, DC 20260-1000

Dear Chairman Miller:

I am writing to you today to request that the Governors reject and resubmit for consideration the specific recommendations of the Postal Regulatory Commission that would more than double the expected postage increase for many catalog and flat-shaped mailings.

The rates recently recommended by the PRC for this type of mail far exceed the significant increase originally requested by the US Postal Service in May 2006.  As a catalog mailer and postal customer, (COMPANY) would be seriously harmed by this exorbitant and unexpected increase. 

In 2006, (COMPANY) spent more than $______ on catalog mailings.  With mailing budgets already allocated for 2007–2008, these dramatic unplanned increases will certainly force our company – and many others like us – to substantially reduce the number of catalogs that we send to current and potential customers. 

Moreover, the long-term effects of these recommended rate increases – specifically, in terms of reduced mail volumes and resultant lost revenue for the Postal Service – would be immediately harmful to the Postal Service and, ultimately, to my company, which would have to pay even higher postal rates.

These huge rate increase proposals come just as the Board of Governors approved $874 million for flats-sorting machines that would improve the cost-effectiveness of USPS’s flats-sorting operations, thereby undermining the basis for these outrageous increases.

In addition, I would like to point out that these recommended increases undermine the spirit of the recently enacted postal reform legislation, which sought to provide predictability for the mailing community.

As an organization whose business depends largely on the success of our catalog mailings, we call on you to ask the Postal Regulatory Commission to reconsider its rate recommendations for flat-shaped mail. 

We also ask that – until this issue is resolved – the new flat rates not be entered into effect under protest.

It is my sincere belief that if these exorbitant rates are put forward, it will be to the detriment of my company, the entire mailing community and the future of the US Postal Service.

Sincerely,

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SAMPLE LETTER

TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

The following is a sample letter that you can use to contact your US Representatives and Senators regarding the PRC’s recommended catalog rates.

To find contact information for your Senators and Representative, go to DMA’s Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/aim/home.

Dear Senator/Representative _______:

I am writing to ask your assistance on a matter of utmost importance to (COMPANY), which employs _____ people in (CITY/STATE).  Like millions of companies in (STATE) and around the country, we rely on catalog mailings to communicate with both current and potential customers.

On February 26, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) issued its recommendations to the Postal Governors on postage rate increases that would, if approved, go into effect as early as May 2007.  The specific rate recommendations for “flat” mailings (which include catalogs) were, in most cases, more than double the rates originally requested by the US Postal Service in May 2006. 

If accepted by the Postal Governors, this exorbitant and unplanned postal rate increase would significantly harm our business by limiting our ability to send mail to our customers in 2007 and beyond.

Such increases in flat mail postage rates would almost certainly lead to a significant decline in mail volumes at the US Postal Service – just as the Board of Governors approved $874 million for new equipment that would improve the cost-effectiveness of the Postal Service’s flats-sorting operations and mitigate the need for these outrageous increases.

Also, these PRC-recommended rate increases undercut the spirit of postal reform legislation, which was passed by the 109th Congress just before it adjourned in December.  While not yet in effect, the new law was intended to provide predictability for mailers in planning for future rate increases.  It also keeps future rate increases for mail – including catalogs – to the rate of inflation or below. 

I would appreciate your help in calling on the Postal Governors to reject and resubmit to the PRC the recommendations for flat mailing rates. 

I would also ask that you contact the PRC to request that the concerns of the mailing community be taken into effect if the case is resubmitted and new recommendations are developed.

I thank you in advance for your assistance in this important matter.  It is our sincere belief that if rushed into place, these exorbitant postal rates will have a dramatically negative impact on your business constituents and on the future of postal revenues in general. 

Sincerely,

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