By Burnam H.R. No. 953
76R16122 SMC-F
R E S O L U T I O N
1-1 WHEREAS, The United States Postal Service holds a monopoly on
1-2 first-class mail and bulk mail services, and routinely generates
1-3 annual multi-million dollar surpluses from these services; and
1-4 WHEREAS, The United States Postal Service has in recent years
1-5 expanded its activities beyond its core mission of universal mail
1-6 service to include many nonpostal-related business products and
1-7 services, such as consumer goods, telephone calling cards, and
1-8 cellular towers, in direct competition with Texas private sector
1-9 enterprises; and
1-10 WHEREAS, The United States Postal Service has used surplus
1-11 revenues from universal mail delivery (first-class postage) to
1-12 expand into these nonpostal-related businesses, which has increased
1-13 operating costs at the expense of improved services for the
1-14 delivery of regular mail to the citizens of Texas; and
1-15 WHEREAS, The United States Postal Service, an agency of the
1-16 federal government, is not subject to antitrust laws and enjoys
1-17 monopoly advantages in the marketplace over private sector
1-18 enterprises due to its ability to maintain artificially low prices
1-19 for competitive products through subsidization with first-class
1-20 postage surpluses and its ability to set the rates of private
1-21 sector competitors; and
1-22 WHEREAS, The United States Postal Service, an agency of the
1-23 federal government, enjoys many marketplace advantages not
1-24 available to private sector enterprises, including exemption from
2-1 state and local taxes, fees, and government regulations, which
2-2 deprives Texas state and local governments of needed revenue and
2-3 fees to offset the effect of the United States Postal Service
2-4 operations on highways, law enforcement, and air quality; and
2-5 WHEREAS, The United States Postal Service, although an agency
2-6 of the federal government, is accountable to no agency or branch of
2-7 the federal government except the Postal Rate Commission, which
2-8 does not have binding authority over the actions or activities of
2-9 the United States Postal Service related to setting postal rates,
2-10 entering new business sectors, or using surplus revenues from
2-11 first-class mail to subsidize enterprises that compete with the
2-12 private sector; now, therefore, be it
2-13 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 76th Texas
2-14 Legislature hereby call on the United States Congress, particularly
2-15 the members of the Texas congressional delegation, to introduce and
2-16 pass legislation in the 106th Congress to strengthen the oversight
2-17 power and the authority of the Postal Rate Commission, to include
2-18 subpoena power with the Postal Rate Commission to examine all
2-19 records and financial data before consideration of any postal rate
2-20 increase or pricing action that could affect products also offered
2-21 by private sector entities; final approval authority on all postal
2-22 rate adjustments, including international and parcel delivery
2-23 rates; authority over all nonpostal business endeavors, including
2-24 all products and services outside the scope of universal mail
2-25 service; and, be it further
2-26 RESOLVED, That the chief clerk of the house of
2-27 representatives forward an official copy of this resolution to the
3-1 president of the senate and the speaker of the house of
3-2 representatives of the United States Congress and to all members of
3-3 the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that it be
3-4 officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the
3-5 Congress of the United States of America.