US Postal Service 2009 Annual Report Download - page 7

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2009 Annual Report United States Postal Service | 5
volume. Recognizing that use of the
mail is one of many alternative com-
munications channels available to
advertisers today, the Postal Service
will explore additional ways — in-
cluding price incentives — to ensure
that advertisers and other customers
continue to view the mail as an at-
tractive value proposition.
Additionally, the Postal Service was
supportive of and is grateful to Presi-
dent Obama and the United States
Congress for the recent enactment of
legislation (P.L. 111–68), which re-
duced the Postal Service’s retiree health
care prefunding burden by $4 billion.
However, while enactment of this leg-
islation enabled the Postal Service to
meet all of its fi nancial obligations in
fi scal year 2009, it was fundamentally
a short-term response to a near-term
cash gap — one that will likely recur in
coming years in the absence of struc-
tural reforms.
The Board of Governors believes
strongly that the Postal Service needs
to operate with greater fl exibility to
meet the evolving marketplace de-
mand for mailing products and servic-
es. Toward this end, we hope in 2010
to engage our customer and business
partner stakeholders, the Administra-
tion and Congress, and the American
people in a dialogue to determine a
more fi nancially sustainable future for
the Postal Service. Building consensus
for possible structural reforms, such
as gaining the fl exibility to transition
to fi ve-day delivery, is urgently needed
for the Postal Service to remain self-
sustaining on a long-term basis.
As we move aggressively to meet
the challenges posed by the current
economic downturn, and work to
maintain the high level of service
expected by the American people,
we are ever mindful of the more
than 600,000 career Postal Service
employees whose dedication and
commitment allows us to fulfi ll this
mission. It is to their credit that the
Postal Service remains among Amer-
ica’s most trusted, ubiquitous and in-
dispensable organizations.
As you review in the following pag-
es the many accomplishments of the
past year, we hope you’ll share our
confi dence in a Postal Service that is
ready to embrace change in order to
better serve the evolving needs of the
American public.
John E. Potter
Postmaster General and
Chief Executive Offi cer
Carolyn Lewis Gallagher
Chairman, Board of Governors
Despite the effects of the
economic turmoil of the past
year, the Postal Service remains
a vital driver of the American
economy, is an integral part
of every American community,
and delivers the greatest value
of any comparable post in the
world. If given the fl exibility
to respond to an evolving
marketplace, it will continue to
do so far into the future.