The issue
Special, preferred postage rates for nonprofits have existed since being authorized by Congress in 1951. To qualify for Nonprofit Standard Mail rates, an organization must be a nonprofit organization organized and operated for a qualifying primary purpose (religious, educational, scientific, charitable, agricultural, labor, veterans, fraternal; certain political committees may also qualify). Under current law, the nonprofit discount rate is 40 percent.

Latest News
On April 25, the Senate voted 62-37 to pass legislation (S. 1789) to reform the U.S. Postal Service, after considering several amendments and waiving a point of order that the $34 billion cost of the legislation violated the 2011 Budget Control Act. The Senate bill as amended would maintain the current nonprofit postage discount rate, unlike legislation (H.R. 2309) that has been approved by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

House Rules Committee Chairman David Drier (R-CA), whose committee marked up pieces of H.R. 2309 on March 26, said that he does not expect full House consideration of the measure until early summer.

is position
Independent Sector sent a letter to Rep. Issa and a similar letter to Sen. McCain urging them to drop section 403(b) from the Postal Reform Act.

Take Action
Contact Rep. Darrell Issa, Sen. John McCain and your House and Senate representatives to share with them how the proposed increase in nonprofit mailing rates would impact your organization and the people you serve. Please feel free to use the following sample letter and talking points.

Sample Letter:

Dear ____________,

I am writing to express our concern about to the nonprofit provision in H.R. 2309/S.1625, the Postal Reform Act of 2011.

Special postage rates for qualified nonprofit organizations have existed since 1951, reflecting the sense of Congress that nonprofits strengthen our civil society. The proposed change to the nonprofit preferred rates would result in significant increases in mailing costs for nonprofit organizations.

(Share your organization’s story)

We cannot afford substantial increases in mailing costs, especially at a time when individual donations are down and the demand for services has increased as governments cut back and the economy continues to falter.

We urge you to support amending H.R. 2309/S.1625 so that Section 403(b) is removed.

Sincerely,

Talking Points:

• Since 1951, the rates for nonprofit Standard Mail have been set by law below the corresponding commercial Standard Mail rates. Current discount rate is 40 percent.
• Section 403(b) of the Postal Reform Act (H.R. 2309), as amended, would reduce the current discount rate from 40 percent to 20 percent.
• Direct mail remains a valuable fundraising tool for nonprofit organizations across the country, including our organization.
  
• Nonprofit standard mail postage currently accounts for about $_____, or ____% of our total operating costs.
• The discount rate decrease would raise our total operating costs by roughly $_____, or ____%.
• We simply cannot afford cost increases of this size.
• Please drop Section 403(b) from the Postal Reform Act.

BACKGROUND
The 21st Century Postal Service Act of 2011
On November 2, 2011, Senators Lieberman (ID-CT), Collins (R-ME), Carper (D-DE), and Scott Brown (R-MA) introduced bipartisan postal reform legislation (S. 1789) to address the financial situation of the USPS. In contrast to legislation proposed by Rep. Issa and Sen. McCain, this bill would maintain nonprofit mailing rate preferences. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs approved the bill in a markup on November 9 by a 9-1 vote, and the bill passed the Senate on April 25 by a 62-37 vote.

Postal Reform Act of 2011
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has introduced legislation (H.R. 2309) to reform the United States Postal Service. A companion bill (S. 1625) was introduced in the Senate by Sen. John McCain in late September. Among the cost-saving measures in the bill is a provision that would significantly reduce the discount that nonprofits receive on postage rates.

• Section 403 – Reduces the current discount rate for nonprofit postage by 5 percent each year for 6 years.
• Effectively reduces the discount rate from 40 percent to 10 percent by 2018..

On October 13, 2011, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved H.R. 2309 by a vote of 22-18, clearing the legislation for consideration by the full House. The legislation passed, amended, with language that would delay for three years the implementation of the Section 403 provision and changes the reduction of the discount rate from 10% to 20% for nonprofit postage.