In the mood for a little irony? Even as Congress is laboring to rescue the U.S. Postal Service from a protracted financial crisis (proposed solutions include pumping billions of dollars into the mail carrier), federal agencies are now under orders to take steps that will reduce their spending on postage.
Among those steps: Using flat-rate boxes and envelopes whenever possible; taking more advantage of USPS discounts; and reducing hard-copy mailings between agencies, according to a recent General Services Administration bulletin to agency heads.
As reasons for the new policy, GSA cites several Obama administration executive orders instructing agencies to reduce waste, cut greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen environmental management. The amount of money at stake is substantial: In fiscal 2011, agencies spent more than $1.2 billion on mail.
The new bulletin doesn’t say by how much agencies should now reduce mailing costs. Last year’s total represents almost a 15 percent drop from 2010, although much of that reduction may be related to the end of the 10-year census. An employee in GSA’s Office of Governmentwide Policy referred questions Wednesday to the agency’s press office. As of Friday, FedLine hadn’t gotten responses from GSA spokeswoman Diane Merriett, but we’ll update this post if we do.
4 Comments
God..soon no one will have jobs. Ive worked in the mailroom at the state department for 15 years. Do you realize how many jobs this will affect all over the place? Not just the post office..but all of us little ppl putting food on the table for our families…
I know my former agency used Federal Express, and I would not be surprised if others did as well. Here is a novel thought…If it absolutely has to be there overnight, use postal service Express Mail. Another idea: Only contract with companies who will send the items via U.S. Postal Service. Everyone orders office supplies and other items. So many of them are shipped via UPS Ground or FedEx Ground. The government can still support the postal service by taking these measures, while also reducing non-essential postage.
Yeah watch, they will use flat rate boxes when it costs more to use them than by paying for weight and distance! Just face it, government is just too stupid!!!
WHY IS IT THAT ONLY GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES WORRY ABOUT THE JOBS THAT ARE GOING TO BE ELIMINATED. IF ANY OF THESE PUBLIC WELFARE RECEIPANTS WOULD THINK OF ANYTHING BUT THEMSELVES AND INSTEAD OF USING THE COMPUTER , EXACTLY LIKE THEY ARE HERE BLOGGING, INSTEAD OF SENDING ALL THEIR BLOG CRAP VIA US MAIL THEN PERHAPS THERE MAY BE A NEED OF THE USPS. HOWEVER THE DAY THERE IS A NEED FOR THE USPS WILL BE THE DAY THE SUN RISES IN THE WEST. BTW HOW ABOUT ALL THESES GOVERNMENT WHINERS SUBMIT A RESUME TO THEIR NEAREST VILLAGE FOR A POSITION AS THEIR IDIOT. BRILLIANT