A new group of U.S. business is seeking to convince the Trump administration and lawmakers to maintain the current package delivery service at the U.S. Postal Service.
Among the companies involved in The Package Coalition include Amazon, Columbia Sportswear, Express Scripts, and the National Retail Federation. The aim, according to the group’s leader, is to
educat
e
elected officials on the Postal Service’s existing model
using facts. The coalition plans to highlight
how
changes
could
hurt
both corporations and small businesses across the U.S.
[Opinion: Contrary to Trump, the Postal Service needs Amazon]
“What the companies that are currently a part of this coalition all have in common is a great interest in the current structure of the package delivery service of the Postal Service,” coalition chairman and former U.S. Army Secretary John M. McHugh said in an interview
Wednesday.
The group in its release cited the $7 billion in profits the package delivery service earned USPS in 2017. The independent agency reported an overall $2.7 billion loss last year.
McHugh
—
who is also a former Republican congressman from New York
—
said the coalition will focus on issues in Washington D.C. including the Trump administration’s strategic review of the USPS, legislation on the topic currently under consideration in Congress
, and the Office of Management and Budget’s analysis that suggested a privatization of the Postal Service.
President Trump has targeted USPS in his ongoing feud with the Washington Post, a media outlet the administration routinely attacks for its unflattering coverage of the White House. Jeff Bezos, who owns the Post, also owns Amazon.
Trump previously charged that the Postal Service is subsidizing package deliveries for Amazon, despite research that found imposing higher shipping prices on the e-commerce giant would cost the USPS money.
When asked
if Amazon’s involvement
could
overshadow
the mission of the coalition, McHugh said the other businesses were aware of the company’s participation prior to joining.
“The fact that all of these companies joined knowing full well that Amazon was going to be a part of it speaks to the unanimity,” he said.
McHugh appears to be preparing for potential backlash from Trump, but noted the group does not intended to engage in “any of the political sidebars.”
“There may be those who want to throw up smoke and mirrors and make this coalition and debate about something that it’s not, but we’re going to stay focused on the facts,” he told the Washington Examiner.
