February 11, 2009 7:29 PM
- Text
Postal Rates Could Go Up Next Year
The Postal Service filed a request Friday seeking higher rates, and blames Congress for the hike.
The agency wants a 2-cent increase in first-class mail, and similar increases for other types of mail, to take effect early next year.
"This rate increase is not required or needed for postal operations or postal expenses or postal salaries, or anything like that," Gerry McKiernan, USPS manager of media relations, told CBSNews.com.
McKiernan said that the Postal Service is seeking the increase, 5.4 percent across the board, only because of a requirement that it establish an escrow fund with a $3.1 billion payment next year.
Congress mandated the escrow requirement in 2003 when it passed a law reducing the amount of money the agency has to pay into its retirement system, which auditors said was being overfunded. Instead Congress ordered the money to be put into the escrow fund.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The agency wants a 2-cent increase in first-class mail, and similar increases for other types of mail, to take effect early next year.
"This rate increase is not required or needed for postal operations or postal expenses or postal salaries, or anything like that," Gerry McKiernan, USPS manager of media relations, told CBSNews.com.
McKiernan said that the Postal Service is seeking the increase, 5.4 percent across the board, only because of a requirement that it establish an escrow fund with a $3.1 billion payment next year.
Congress mandated the escrow requirement in 2003 when it passed a law reducing the amount of money the agency has to pay into its retirement system, which auditors said was being overfunded. Instead Congress ordered the money to be put into the escrow fund.
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