A U.S. Treasury Department task force, ordered by President Trump, is proposing an overhaul to the U.S. Postal Service, including (and perhaps in particular) how it prices packages delivered by e-commerce companies like Amazon.
The task force says the USPS should price mailing these packages “with profitability in mind.”
The president has, in turn, criticized Amazon for treating the USPS as its “delivery boy.”
Keep in mind that Amazon is owned by Jeff Bezos, who now also owns the Washington Post. That newspaper is often critical of President Trump. However, the administration denies it is targeting Amazon.
The report does not call for privatizing the Postal Service.
Politico’s story can be found here. The New York Times has the Associated Press story as well as its own, titled “Trump Said Amazon Was Scamming the Post Office. His Administration Disagrees.” CNN characterizes it as “White House backs off privatizing the Postal Service.” FoxNews.com apparently did not run the story.
Here is the Treasury Department’s press release:
Washington – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the Task Force report on the United States Postal System. The report, United States Postal System: A 
Sustainable Path Forward, provides a series of recommendations to overhaul the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) business model in order to return it to sustainability without shifting additional costs to taxpayers.
“The USPS is on an unsustainable financial path which poses significant financial risk to American taxpayers,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “President Trump tasked us with conducting a thorough evaluation of the USPS, and today’s report contains achievable recommendations that fulfill the President’s goal of placing the USPS on a path to sustainability, while protecting taxpayers from undue financial burdens and providing them with necessary mail services.”
Between fiscal year (FY) 2007 and FY 2018, the USPS experienced net losses totaling $69 billion. The USPS is forecast to lose tens of billions of dollars over the next decade. The USPS’s business model—including its governance, product pricing, cost allocation, and labor practices—must be updated in light of its current operating realities.
On April 12, 2018, President Trump issued the Executive Order on the Task Force on the United States Postal System. The Executive Order established a Task Force on the United States Postal System, chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury and including the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. The Task Force was directed to evaluate the operations and finances of the USPS and to develop recommendations for administrative and legislative reforms that will enable the USPS to create a sustainable business model.
The Task Force’s recommendations include, but are not limited to:
- Improving governance by strengthening the Board of Governors and developing enforcement mechanisms to ensure financial commitments and reforms are met;
- Clearly defining the Universal Service Obligation by specifying what are “essential postal services,” or types of mail and packages for which a strong social or macroeconomic rationale exists for government protection;
- Developing a new pricing model that removes price caps and charges market-based prices for both mail and package items that are not deemed “essential postal services”;
- Modernizing the USPS’s cost standards and cost allocation methodology;
- Pursuing cost-cutting strategies that will enable it to meet the changing realities of its business model;
- Reforming USPS employee compensation in a manner consistent with proposed reforms to the broader federal workforce;
- Restructuring retiree health benefit liabilities with a new actuarial calculation that is based on employees at or near retirement age;
- Exploring new services that will allow the USPS to exact value from its existing assets and business lines, but that present no balance sheet risk.
The Task Force’s full analysis and complete list of recommendations can be found in the full report.
[The stamp design was unveiled Saturday at the Bush Library, above]
The Digital Color Postmark for this issue measures 2.94″x0.98″ 
The B&W pictorial measures 2.93″x0.94″ 
The “special” postmark, for other post offices, measures 2.24″x1.46″
WASHINGTON — Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus — and the U.S. Postal Service can help you prove it when Santa replies to your child’s letter — complete with a North Pole postmark (right).
“Letters from Santa” must be received by the Anchorage, AK, postmaster no later than Dec. 15. Santa’s helpers at the Postal Service will take care of the rest.
A familiar sight on public buildings and private homes alike, the American flag has been portrayed in myriad ways on U.S. postage. This stamped envelope features a graphic design of the flag that evokes a rich sense of history even as it presents a recognizable icon in a fresh, contemporary way. Kit Hinrichs created the artwork for this stamped envelope. Ethel Kessler served as art director.
A familiar sight on public buildings and private homes alike, the American flag has been portrayed in myriad ways on U.S. postage. This stamped envelope features a graphic design of the flag that evokes a rich sense of history even as it presents a recognizable icon in a fresh, contemporary way. Kit Hinrichs created the artwork for this stamped envelope. Ethel Kessler served as art director.
The California dogface graces the seventh non-machineable butterfly stamp for use on irregularly sized envelopes, such as square greeting cards, invitations or announcements. The stamp art was digitally created using images of preserved butterflies as a starting point. The result is a highly stylized, simplified image of a California dogface (Zerene eurydice) rather than an exact replica. Nationally known artist Tom Engeman created the stamp art. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp.
On January 27, 2019, in Kansas City, MO, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the California Dogface stamp (Non-denominated priced at the Non-machineable Surcharge rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 120100). The stamp will go on sale nationwide January 27, 2019, and must not be sold or cancelled before the first-day-of-issue.
It measures 2.98″x1.39″.
Four new postcard stamps celebrate the beauty and wonder of coral reefs. Each stamp depicts a type of stony coral, along with associated reef fish, in a highly stylized manner: elkhorn coral, shown with two French angelfish; brain coral, with a spotted moray eel; staghorn coral, with bluestriped grunts; pillar coral, with a coney grouper and neon gobies. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamps. Tyler Lang created the stamp art.
Format: Pane of 20 (4 designs)
It measures 2.90″ x 1.39″
With this Priority Mail Express stamp, the Postal Service commemorates the Bethesda Fountain, one of Central Park’s most iconic structures. Dedicated in 1873, the fountain is a gathering place beloved by New Yorkers and out-of-town visitors alike. The stamp art features a stylized depiction of the fountain. The illustration was first rendered as a pencil sketch and then scanned and finished digitally. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp with original art by Dan Cosgrove.
On January 27, 2019, in Kansas City, MO, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the $25.50 Bethesda Fountain Priority Mail Express stamp in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of four stamps (Item 129900). The stamp will go on sale nationwide January 27, 2019, and must not be sold or cancelled before the first-day-of-issue.
The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.19″x1.41″. 
The B&W pictorial measures 2.84″1.42″.
Celebrating the desolate beauty of the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) and its distinct desert environment, this Priority Mail stamp depicts a common scene throughout much of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. Using the bold colors of the sun’s reflection off the trees, rocks, and other shrubby vegetation, artist Dan Cosgrove illuminates the desert scene in warm, golden hues. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp.
On January 27, 2019, in Kansas City, MO, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the $7.35 Joshua Tree Priority Mail stamp in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of four stamps (Item 120000). The stamp will go on sale nationwide January 27, 2019, and must not be sold or cancelled before the first-day-of-issue.
The Digital Color Postmark measures 1.44″x1.48″. 
The B&W Pictorial measures 2.98″x1.21″.
The Winter Berries booklet of 20 stamps celebrates four of winter’s small yet vibrant offerings: the winterberry (Ilex verticillate), the juniper berry (Juniperus communis), the beautyberry (Callicarpa Americana) and the soapberry (Sapindus Saponaria). The stamp art features highly detailed botanical portraits of each plant that highlight the bold colors and rich textures of their berries. Artist Steve Buchanan worked with art director Antonio Alcalá to create these four new stamps.
The Winter Berries booklet of 20 stamps celebrates four of winter’s small, yet vibrant offerings:
The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.53″ x 1.30″ 
The B&W Pictorial Postmark measures 2.02″ x 0.89″
This stamp issuance celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, held in the small farming community of Bethel, New York, in August 1969. It was the most famous rock fair in history and an expression of the youth counterculture of the 1960s. The stamp art, designed by art director Antonio Alcalá¡, features the image of the dove from graphic artist Arnold Skolnick’s promotional 1969 poster for the fair along with some of the poster’s words: “3 Days of Peace and Music.” In the stamp art the words are stacked in the background in brilliant colors along with the year 1969, USA, and Forever (the value of the stamp). The white dove stands in the foreground.
A 50th anniversary reunion festival is planned for August 15-18, 2019, in Watkins Glen, NY (about 115 miles WNW or 150 miles driving).
The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.93″x1.43″
The B&W pictorial measures 2.96″x1.37″
The “special” postmark, for local offices to use, measures 2.814″x1.37″
