C-SPAN Coverage: Capitol Hill Forum on President Trump’s Postal Service Task Force – 6.15.18

The Lexington Institute hosted a Capitol Hill Forum about President Trump’s Postal Service Task Force on Friday, June 15 at 12:00 pm. C-SPAN broadcast and posted its coverage of the Forum here.

Speakers included:

Ms. Anna Möller Boivie, Managing Director, Copenhagen Economics

Mr. James Campbell, Attorney and Author

Mr. Scott Cunningham, Deputy Chief of Staff, Representative Kenny Marchant

Dr. Gene Del Polito, Former President, Association for Postal Commerce

Ms. Ann Fisher, Director, Postal Regulatory Commission

Mr. John Hatton, Deputy Director, National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association

Mr. Michael Plunkett, President & Chief Executive Officer, Association for Postal Commerce

Ms. Lori Rectanus, Director, U.S. Government Accountability Office

Dr. Robert Shapiro, Chairman, Sonecon

Mr. Jayme Smaldone, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mighty Mug

Mr. Paul F. Steidler, Senior Fellow, Lexington Institute

The new Postal Task Force means Congress will likely focus more on postal issues now than at any time since the 2006 Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act. Following a comprehensive review of the Postal Service’s operations and finances, the Task Force is to report its findings and suggested legislative reforms by August 10.

This conference examined issues that must be tackled and how they should be addressed from various viewpoints, including, but not exclusively, the following:

• The need for a new business model, including redefining the Universal Service Obligation and the need for a turnaround plan
• How to best address the large amount of debt and significant unfunded liabilities that have been incurred by the USPS
• Suggested reforms to the retiree health benefits program and other retirement programs
• The potential consequences to taxpayers, Postal Service workers and retirees and Postal Service customers if significant reforms are not implemented soon.