Federal Daily News
GSA to agencies: Use less postage
As the U.S. Postal Service moves ahead with plans to consolidate facilities to save money, federal agencies have been directed to do some cost-cutting of their own — by trimming back their postage expenses.
A General Services Administration mail management bulletin sent to agency and department heads earlier this month asks agencies to improve all mailing activities by reducing the costs of outgoing mail orders through the use of flat rate boxes and envelopes “to the maximum extent possible when cost effective,” consolidating outgoing mail processing at facilities that have similar processing, and eliminating “infrequently used and therefore inefficient” postage metering equipment, among other cost-saving measures.
Several executive orders that address wasteful and ineffective policies and programs, and that direct agencies to reduce greenhouse gases, are driving the directive, GSA noted.
The GSA directive comes as USPS struggles to generate income amid lower mail volumes.
“We simply do not have the mail volumes to justify the size and capacity of our current mail processing network,” Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said last week. Donohoe said planned staff reductions and mail processing facility closures are needed to improve the Postal Service's long-term profitability and financial stability.