Will postal reform deliver for small business?

It's been 30 years since Congress tackled comprehensive changes to the United States Postal Service (USPS). A legislative effort to reform the beleaguered system is now picking up steam, but does any of this matter to small business?

Businesses, particularly small businesses, rely heavily on a timely, reliable and affordable mail system. According to findings from the President's Commission on the USPS, business mail is essentially sustaining the system. With individuals relying heavily on the Internet for communicating, the USPS "is becoming primarily a medium for the transmission of business correspondence. All tallied, bill presentment and payment, commercial correspondence and advertising combine to generate 93 percent of total U.S. first-class mail volume today."

Karen Kerrigan is chairman of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, in Washington, D.C. You can send questions or comments to her by email to kkerrigan@bizjournals.com.