Daily printout: April 10

The Postal Service has filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission of mailing services price changes to take effect Sunday, July 12.

The new rates include a 4-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 78 cents to 82 cents.

The proposed adjustments, approved by Postal Service governors, would raise mailing services product prices approximately 4.8 percent.

If favorably reviewed by the commission, the price changes would include:

• Letters (1 ounce): 78 cents (current), 82 cents (planned)

• Letters (metered 1 ounce): 74 cents (current), 78 cents (planned)

• Domestic postcards: 61 cents (current), 65 cents (planned)

• International postcards: $1.70 (current), $1.75 (planned)

• International letters (1 ounce): $1.70 (current), $1.75 (planned)

The additional-ounce price for single-piece letters will remain at 29 cents. The Postal Service is also seeking price adjustments for other First-Class Mail products, Periodicals, USPS Marketing Mail, Package Services and selected Special Services products.

In the midst of the severe financial crisis facing the Postal Service and continued rising operational costs, the organization is using all available tools, including available regulatory pricing authority, to ensure that it can continue to fulfill its universal service obligation and serve the American public.

The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. Even with the adjustment, the Postal Service’s mailing prices remain among the most affordable in the world.

The commission will review the changes before they are scheduled to take effect.

The complete Postal Service price filing, with prices for all products, can be found on the commission’s website under the Daily Listings section. The price tables are also available on the Postal Service’s Postal Explorer website.

The Postal Service will release its Figures of the American Revolution stamps on Friday, April 10.

The release brings together portraits of 25 people whose vision, leadership and sacrifices helped define the American Revolution.

The honorees range from the well-known, such as George Washington, Abigail Adams and Benjamin Franklin, to those less often recognized, including James Armistead, Deborah Sampson and Cornplanter. Together, they remind us that independence was secured by the contributions of many.

Ethel Kessler, an art director for USPS, and illustrator Tim O’Brien created the pane using portraits made for the Postal Service by a dozen artists.

The sheet includes a pane of 25 stamps arranged in five rows of five on a background of the Declaration of Independence.  

The Forever stamps will be available at Post Offices and at usps.com.

The Postal Service will release the stamps through a first-of-its-kind interactive exhibition April 10-12 at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, DC.

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