United States Postal Service

I

Introduction

United States Postal Service, independent agency within the executive department of the United States government, responsible for nationwide postal regulation and delivery. The postal system, formerly known as the Post Office Department, was reorganized as the U.S. Postal Service under the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, which became effective in July 1971. The chief functions of the Postal Service are the collection and delivery of letters, parcel post, and printed matter, such as books, magazines, and newspapers, and the issuance of domestic and foreign money orders. The Postal Service handles more than 160 billion pieces of mail a year.

The changes in the postal system stemmed from four basic provisions of the Postal Reorganization Act: elimination of politics from postal management; adequate financing authority; establishment of a postal career service, allowing collective bargaining between management and employees; and creation of an independent commission for setting of postal rates.

The Postal Service is directed by an 11-member board of governors, 9 of whom are appointed by the president on a bipartisan basis with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. The nine governors appoint a tenth to be postmaster general; they then appoint a deputy postmaster general. The independent Postal Rate Commission has five members, appointed by the president. Tenure in these offices is decided on the basis of performance rather than political affiliation; one purpose of this stipulation is to avoid needless discontinuity of the postal system, which formerly occurred in presidential election years. The Postal Service is authorized to borrow up to $10 billion from the general public, that is, from the Department of the Treasury, and can propose to the Postal Rate Commission changes in rates or classification of mail.

II

Classifications of Postal Matter

Mailable matter in the domestic service is divided into four classes, for which different rates are charged. First-class mail includes letters, postcards, matter wholly or partly in writing, and matter sealed or closed against inspection; second-class mail comprises newspapers and periodical publications; third-class mail (less than 16 oz/170 g) includes books, circulars, matter wholly in print, and proof sheets; and fourth-class mail (domestic parcel post, 16 oz or over) covers merchandise and all matter not covered in the other three classes. Express mail, the newest service, provides overnight delivery for packages of up to 70 lb. Letters and postcards sent by airmail to foreign countries are considered first-class mail, as are parcels sent by air or as registered mail. Additional fees are charged for special delivery or special handling. No airmail category exists for first-class letters within the United States.

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III

Illegal Postal Matter

According to current regulations, liquor, poisons, medicines under certain restrictions, explosives, all articles likely to cause injury or damage, and seditious, obscene, defamatory, or threatening matter are excluded from the mails. Postal regulations restrict unsolicited advertisements that are of a sexually explicit nature. The postmaster general is authorized to prevent mail delivery to persons conducting a fraudulent business.

IV

Zip Code System

In 1963 the ZIP (Zoning Improvement Program) code system was introduced to simplify the patterns and procedures of mail distribution. The ZIP code is a five-digit number used on the last line of the address following the name of the city and state. The first digit, from 0 to 9, stands for one of the ten main geographical areas into which the United States and its possessions are divided; each area includes three or more states or possessions. The next four digits delimit localities further by subdividing the main area; the first three digits together represent a sectional or metropolitan area, with the next two numbers specifying an associated or branch post office. In October 1983 the Postal Service began using an expanded ZIP code system of nine numbers, consisting of the five-digit code plus four additional digits, which specify an individual delivery route. Use of ZIP codes is voluntary; however, reduced postage rates are offered to large-volume mailers employing the expanded nine-digit code.

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