Earlier this year, in his budget of the U.S. government for the fiscal year 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump proposed “operational reforms to reduce costs and improve revenue” of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
But the meat and potatoes didn’t come in the budget, which was dubbed “A New Foundation for American Freedom” and explains the president’s “moral commitment to replacing our current economic stagnation with faster economic growth rests on the following eight pillars of reform.” On page 1,207 of the budget’s 1,284-page appendix, released May 23, Trump urges Congress to grant the USPS the “authority to reduce mail delivery frequency where there is a business case for doing so,” among other cost-cutting ideas.
“The Budget proposes operational reforms to reduce costs and improve revenue, including: 1) authority to reduce mail delivery frequency where there is a business case for doing so; 2) allowing the Postal Service to leverage its resources by increasing collaboration with State and local governments; 3) allowing the Postal Service to begin shifting to centralized and curbside delivery where appropriate; 4) enhancing Postal Service governance to ensure sound financial management; and 5) requiring the future rate structure for the Postal Service to provide enough flexibility to ensure both the stability of Postal operations and the ability of the Postal Service to meet its statutory obligations for retiree health and pension costs,” reads page 1,207 of the appendix.
“The Budget estimates that these operational reforms will improve the Postal Service’s financial position by $47 billion over 10 years.”
The 2018 Trump budget’s eight pillars of reform include:
- health reform;
- tax reform and simplification;
- immigration reform;
- reductions in federal spending;
- regulatory rollback;
- American energy development;
- welfare reform; and
- education reform.
For more information about the proposed changes, click here to view the appendix.