Printers, publishers take postal case to Congress
Oct 1, 2007 11:41 AM
Many printers work with catalogers and smaller publications that are reeling from recent postal rate increases. Two small publications that print with The Ovid Bell Press (OBP) (Fulton, MO), for example, face increases of 56 percent. Some printers' customers can't afford these rate hikes and are likely to fold.
Tell your postal horror story
Do you have customers facing this scenario? John Ovid Bell, CEO of OBP, is urging his fellow printers to make their voices heard in Washington this week. On October 3, Bell will join a group that includes The Nation, Quebecor World, RR Donnelley, The American Catalog Mailers Assn., PIA/GATF and American Business Media. Members of the group will testify before the Federal Workforce, Postal Service and District of Columbia Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
If you can't join Bell and the others in person, show your support by contacting the Postmaster General as well as your lawmakers.
"We are seeking written testimony from printers and publishers," says Bell. "Don't let this hearing lapse into business as usual in Washington. The horror stories of printers and publishers should have a greater impact on the committee than the usual lawyers. We need a few paragraphs or pages fully exposing the pain and suffering created by the postal rate case."
Why tell Congress your postal woes?
Although Congress can't adjust the rates legislatively, PIA reminds us that as the oversight body of the USPS, it's important that lawmakers know how rate cases impact the economic health of their constituents. And, as Bell notes, "We're hoping to set the stage for a second Senate hearing with this first hearing."
PIA's Web site offers background information on this issue as well as complete instructions on contacting the relevant officials:
FOLIO magazine interviewed Bell for "Ad-hoc Mailers' Group Takes Postal-Rate Complaints to Congress."
Contact Bell at John@ovidbell.com.
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