The DMA Supports Immediate Call For Postal Commission
USPS Financial Crisis Calls for Immediate Action
NEW YORK, July 23, 2002 – The Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) today voiced its support for the efforts of Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) to reform the United States Postal Service (USPS). Sen. Collins introduced draft legislation yesterday that would establish a commission within 60 days and mandate recommendations to make the USPS a viable 21st century enterprise within 15 months.
"We are pleased that Senator Collins is so engaged on the critical issue of postal reform and has taken this important step," said Jerry Cerasale, senior vice president government affairs, The DMA. "We are doubly encouraged by the Senator's swift response to calls for immediate action to avoid the calamitous possibility of not having a viable Postal Service in the near future."
Cerasale expressed concern over the impact on both the Postal Service and its customers in the business mailing community of repeated rate increases – three in the last 18 months. These increases, when totaled, will extract almost $7 billion more from American consumers and businesses for higher postage in an already soft economy.
Along with administration and congressional action, Cerasale also called on USPS management to aggressively implement plans to reduce costs, duplicative and overlapping operations and improve productivity and service.
The DMA is the leading and largest trade association for businesses interested in interactive and database marketing, with almost 4,700 member companies from the United States and 53 other nations. Founded in 1917, its members include direct marketers from every business segment as well as the nonprofit and electronic marketing sectors. Included are catalogers, Internet retailers and service providers, financial services providers, book and magazine publishers, book and music clubs, retail stores, industrial manufacturers and a host of other vertical segments, including the service industries that support them. According to a DMA-commissioned study, direct and interactive marketing sales in the United States exceeded $1.8 trillion in 2001, including $118 billion in catalog sales and $30 billion in sales generated by the Internet. The DMA's Web Site is
www.the-dma.org and its consumer Web site is www.shopthenet.org.###