Quiero saber acerca de...

jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with RULES

43946

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 11, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
less than 95 percent for cross-country mail.
With regard to the first point, the Postal Service notes that the union itself, in its comments, affirms its commitment to and support of improved reliability. The Postal Service further observes that the enhanced reliability enabled by the changes can counterbalance any marginal impact on the unions mailing activities that the standards may cause. With regard to the second point, it bears mentioning that approximately 98 percent of the comments received consisted of short form letters that were prompted by critics of the proposed change; it is not the case that such letters are indicative of opposition by the American public generally of this proposal. Moreover, evidence suggests that customers typically value reliability above speed, and thatas the numerous anecdotes of service performance failures further attestdelayed or missed deliveries inflict at least as much, and likely more, damage to the Postal Services brand than would a slightly lengthened service standard affecting less than 40 percent of First-Class Mail. The Postal Service therefore disagrees with the suggestion that, by maintaining the current standards while setting forth lower service targets, the Postal Service could more effectively protect its current high approval rating among the American public.
At least one commenter claims that with the changes comes a higher risk that time-sensitive Periodicals will arrive late at their destination. The Postal Service observes that, when subject to delays, time-sensitive Periodicals may lose value to customers.
As such delays cannot be planned around, customers who ship and receive Periodicals will stand to benefit from the greater degree of reliability enabled by the changes, which will also only extend the standard by one or two days.
In addition, this change affects only end-to-end Periodicals, which represent a very small portion of overall Periodicals volume, and are more likely to be quarterly or monthly publications that are less time-sensitive than Periodicals generally.
Numerous comments were submitted by, or on behalf of, customers domiciled in Alaska. First, a group of Alaskan state legislators allege that the changes would grossly violate the Universal Service Obligation. The Postal Service notes, in response, that the PRCs Report on Universal Postal Service and Postal Monopoly, Dec. 19, 2008, at 19798, finds service quality to be an attribute of the universal service obligation, and further finds the statutory requirement
VerDate Sep<11>2014

17:21 Aug 10, 2021

Jkt 253001

to seek an advisory opinion before changing service quality nationwide to be a necessary component of service quality. For the changes at issue in this rulemaking, the Postal Service has already sought an advisory opinion; the changes, moreover, aim to rebalance speed and reliability, in order to address well-documented concerns about the latter and thereby to maintain and indeed improve service quality.
Further, some business owners express concern that the changes will affect their ability to ship products such as smoked salmon to locations within the 48 contiguous states. Others worry that the changes will compromise their ability to receive food and prescription medications via the Postal Service. Several commenters note that the Alaska Public Guardian manages the shelter, food, medical and financial needs of approximately 1,700
incapacitated Alaskans, and that the Postal Service is the only method available to the Public Guardian to send checks and documents to these individuals, their landlords, service providers, and families. These commenters note the time-sensitive nature of many such mailings; observe that they are already routinely late, many times already arriving on the date information is due or after deadlines have passed; and voice the concern that changing the delivery standards will . . . exacerbate these issues.
The Postal Service acknowledges the unique challenges faced by incapacitated Alaskans, and further acknowledges that customers in rural Alaska may rely on the Postal Service for prescription medications and foodstuffs. However, it bears repeating that the changes under review in this rulemaking will affect only First-Class Mail and Periodicalsnot the packages which bear items like food, prescription medications, and other merchandise.
With regard to the Public Guardian and its clients, it also bears mentioning that mailings canand often doarrive earlier than the deadlines indicated by service standards. Furthermore, as discussed, the changes will help ameliorate, rather than exacerbate, the service performance failures which these commenters note. Thus, the increase in reliability enabled by these changes should counterbalance inconveniences which result from the addition of one day to the service standards for First Class Mail originating in and destined for Alaska.
Two farmers organizations draw attention to the special challenges faced by their members. These commenters note that farmers rely on the Postal Service to ship and receive seeds,
PO 00000

Frm 00038

Fmt 4700

Sfmt 4700

fertilizer, pesticides, tools, and other essential products, as well as to receive live animals like chicks and bees. They also note that, as their members tend to live in rural areas not covered by private carriers and frequently not equipped with broadband internet, they rely on the Postal Service for prescription medications and for purposes of general communication. In opposing the changes, these commenters appear to operate under the misimpression that the service standards for all First-Class Mail will be lengthened from 13 days to 5 days.
The Postal Service reiterates that the changes at issue here concern only FirstClass Mail letters and flats and Periodicals, and not the packages used for conveying the supplies, seeds, and animals listed by these commenters as matters of special concern. Moreover, with respect to the non-package mail at issue, the Postal Service reiterates that over 60 percent of First-Class Mail will remain unaffected by the changes, and that, of the affected mailings, only a fraction approximately 10 percent will see service standards lengthened to 5
days. Most First-Class Mail 70 percent will remain subject to a service standard of 3 days or less. The Postal Service also notes that the increased reliability accruing to the changes should counterbalance any inconveniences associated with longer delivery times.
Numerous commenters cite or allude to Article I, Section 8, of the U.S.
Constitution, which grants Congress the power to establish Post Offices and post Roads. Many, though perhaps not all, of these commenters either suggest or claim outright that the changes would somehow violate this clause. This claim is premised on the view that the changes amount to a wholesale destruction or sabotage of the postal system.
The Postal Service disagrees. Far from acting contrary to Congresss design, the service standard changes flow from Congressional delegations of authority to establish and revise service standards and to plan, develop, promote, and provide adequate and efficient postal services. 39 U.S.C. 101a, 403a, b1, 2010, 3691a. Moreover, these changes reasonably balance the various policies that those statutory delegations require the Postal Service to achieve or take into account when designing service standards. The changes will leave unaffected approximately 60 percent of First-Class Mail mailings; will enable higher levels of satisfactory service performance and operational efficiency;
and will help put the Postal Service on a sounder financial footing, so that it may continue to serve its customers
E:FRFM11AUR1.SGM

11AUR1