Tony Hall: “this rule protects from a point of order a provision that would remove the U.S. Postal Service as the American…”

“this rule protects from a point of order a provision that would remove the U.S. Postal Service as the American representative to the Universal Postal Union and substitute the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The Universal Postal Union oversees the functioning of the international mail system. Without the special protection of this rule, the provision violates the House rule against legislating in an appropriations bill. I believe the Rules Committee was wrong in granting a waiver for this ill-advised provision. The USTR does not want the job and is not qualified for the job. The USTR fears that the new responsibilities would interfere with its principal mission of administering U.S. trade policies. The State Department believes that the U.S. Postal Service is the proper agency to represent the United States because only the Postal Service has the necessary specialized expertise in mail operations. Mr. Gilman, the chairman of the House International Relations Committee, has concerns about the change because the USTR is not able to manage the new responsibility. This provision is opposed by major businesses which depend on the mail system such as L.L. Bean, the J.C. Penney Company, Land's End, the Magazine Publishers of America, the Direct Marketing Association, Hammacher Schlemmer, and the Parcel Shippers Association.”