It’s official: On Dec. 20, President Bush signed H.R. 6407, the Postal Reform and Accountability Act, into law.
The bill, passed in the waning hours of the 109th Congress on Dec. 9, creates a foundation for the first major overhaul of U.S. Postal Service operations in more than 36 years. President Bush signed the bill into law in a ceremony at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington.
The new law is designed to allow the Postal Service to transform its operating structure to better meet the changing economic and technological needs of the 21st century. Among the more-dramatic reforms that are a part of H.R. 6407 are a rate-increase cap that ties future postage increases to the rate of inflation and strict criteria regarding conditions for emergency rate increases.
The bill will not affect the pending postal rate case, however, itself a fairly sweeping act of reform regarding how the U.S. Postal Service charges for services. The pending rate changes are expected to go into effect in late spring.
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