USPS wants 2¢ stamp increase
Purchasing Magazine Staff -- Purchasing, 4/11/2005 1:29:00 PM
U.S. Postal Service has proposed increasing the price of a first-class stamp by 2¢ next year as part of a sweeping rise in rates for most types of mail needed to fund a $3.1 billion escrow account requirement. The Postal Service says the price of a first-class stamp would rise to 39¢ from 37¢ early next year if the increase is approved by the Postal Rate Commission, an independent body that oversees the post office.
The latest stamp price increase would be part of a broader 5.4% rate rise that the Postal Service would apply to most packages. Stamp prices have risen three times since 1999, most recently by 3¢ in June 2002. Under the current proposal, Express Mail package overnight would increase to $14.40 from $13.65, and Priority Mail, a heavily promoted 2-3 day service, would rise to $4.05 from $3.85 for a 2-pound package. Congress ordered the Postal Service in 2003 to establish the escrow after government auditors determined the agency was overpaying to its retirement fund. The excess payments were instead placed in the account, which the post office cannot use to run its operations without additional congressional legislation.
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