US Postal Service 2009 Annual Report Download - page 31

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2009 Annual Report United States Postal Service | 29
OVERVIEW
The United States Postal Service (we) commenced opera-
tions on July 1, 1971, as an “independent establishment
of the executive branch of the Government of the United
States” with the mandate that we offer a “fundamental
service” to the American people, “at fair and reasonable
rates.” We fulfi ll this legal mandate to provide universal ser-
vice at a fair price by offering a variety of classes of mail
services without undue discrimination among our many
customers. This means that within each class of mail our
price does not unreasonably vary by customer for the lev-
els of service provided. Established as the successor to
the Post Offi ce Department (POD) by the Postal Reorgani-
zation Act, we are governed by an eleven-member Board
of Governors. The Board is comprised of nine Governors
appointed by the President of the United States with the
advice and consent of the Senate, plus the Postmaster
General and the Deputy Postmaster General. The Postal
Accountability and Enhancement Act, Public Law 109-
435 (P.L. 109-435) made further revisions to the Postal
Reorganization Act. The Postal Service’s governing statute
is codifi ed in title 39, United States Code.
We serve individual and commercial customers throughout
the nation, competing for their business in the communica-
tions, distribution, delivery, advertising and retail markets.
The law divides our services into two broad categories:
market-dominant and competitive. Throughout this docu-
ment and in the day-to-day operation of the organization,
we refer to market-dominant services as “Mailing Ser-
vices” and competitive services as “Shipping Services.”
Mailing Services include, but are not limited to, First-Class
Mail, Standard Mail, Periodicals and Package Services.
Price increases for these services are subject to a price
cap based on the Consumer Price Index — All Urban Con-
sumers (CPI-U).
Shipping Services include Priority Mail, Express Mail, Bulk
Parcel Post and Bulk International Mail. The regulations for
Shipping Services place no upper limit on price changes
while setting a price fl oor.
BUSINESS