PRC Proposes Rules for Postal Reform Implementation.

Washington, DC, August 15, 2007 — In response to proposed rules issued today by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to revise the postal rate setting process, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) is urging its members to carefully review the proposed rules and consider how their mailing operations would be affected by implementation of these new policies.

The PRC issued proposed rules that would implement the provisions of the Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act, which was passed by Congress last year and signed by President Bush last December 20. Interested parties must file comments on the PRC’s proposed rules by September 14, 2007.

“As the primary voice for direct mailers, DMA will be reviewing the proposed rules extensively, and paying close attention to what our members have to say,” said Steven K. Berry, DMA’s executive vice president for government affairs and corporate responsibility. “Postal reform was a long-sought victory for the mailing community. Now that those reforms are being set into motion, DMA is remaining vigilant in representing mailers’ concerns.”

Over the past several months, DMA has provided three sets of formal comments in response to specific requests by the PRC for preliminary information and comments.

Berry noted that while it is too soon to remark on the substantive aspects of today’s proposed rules, DMA is pleased that the PRC is proceeding with its rulemaking efforts in a timely fashion. “We continue to hope that the final rules will be implemented in the coming months, and that a potentially disastrous final rate case under the old, outdated system can be avoided,” he said.

In addition to encouraging members to submit individual comments, DMA will be working with other mailing community groups, and developing its own formal comments for submission to the PRC.

To provide DMA members with an opportunity to discuss their concerns about the proposed rules, the postal affairs subcommittee of DMA’s Government Relations Committee will be hosting an open conference call during the week of August 27. Additional information on this conference call will be communicated via “3D”–DMA Daily Digest as well as in the postal section of the Association’s Web site at www.the-dma.org/postal.

The PRC notice of proposed rulemaking is available at http://www.prc.gov/main.asp?Left=calendarL.asp&Right=calendar_detail.asp?CalendarShow=Listings.

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DIRECT MARKETING ASSOCIATION

The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the leading global trade association of businesses and nonprofit organizations using and supporting multichannel direct marketing tools and techniques. DMA advocates standards for responsible marketing, promotes relevance as the key to reaching consumers with desirable offers, and provides cutting-edge research, education, and networking opportunities to improve results throughout the end-to-end direct marketing process. Founded in 1917, DMA today represents more than 3,600 companies from dozens of vertical industries in the US and 50 other nations, including a majority of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as nonprofit organizations.

In 2006, marketers — commercial and nonprofit — spent $166.5 billion on direct marketing in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures generated $1.93 trillion in incremental sales. Last year, direct marketing accounted for 10.3 percent of total US GDP. Also, there are today 1.7 million direct marketing employees in the US alone. Their collective sales efforts directly support 8.8 million other jobs. That accounts for 10.5 million US jobs.

The Power of Direct: Relevance. Responsibility. Results.

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