US Postal Service 2011 Annual Report Download - page 100

2011 Report on Form 10-K United States Postal Service - 98 -
Exhibit 31.1
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO RULES 13A-14(A) AND 15D-14(A)
UNDER THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS
ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-
OXLEY ACT OF 2002
I, Patrick R. Donahoe, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of the United States Postal Service (Postal Service);
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a
material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly
present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the Postal Service as
of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The Postal Service’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls
and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) and internal control over financial
reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a–15(f) and 15d–15(f)) for the Postal Service and have:
a. Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be
designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the Postal Service, including its
consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in
which this report is being prepared;
b. Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to
be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial
reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles;
c. Evaluated the effectiveness of the Postal Service’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this
report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the
period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
d. Disclosed in this report any change in the Postal Service’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred
during the Postal Service’s most recent fiscal quarter (the Postal Service’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an
annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Postal Service’s internal
control over financial reporting; and
5. The Postal Service’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal
control over financial reporting, to the Postal Service’s auditors and the audit committee of the Postal Service’s Board
of Governors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial
reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Postal Service’s ability to record, process,
summarize and report financial information; and
b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in
the Postal Service’s internal control over financial reporting.
Date: November 15, 2011
/s/ Patrick R. Donahoe____________________
Patrick R. Donahoe
Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer