Even in the electronic age, the Postal Service plays an important role in the lives of most Americans. The exact meaning of the obligation the Postal Service has to “provide universal service” has been debated and studied independently by academics and consultants and by the Postal Service itself. Section 101(a) of Title 39 U.S.C. defines Postal operating policy, and succinctly captures not only the objective operation of the Postal Service but the spirit of its importance to the nation:
§ 101. Postal policy
(a) The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by Act of Congress, and supported by the people. The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide U.S. postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render U.S. postal services to all communities. The costs of establishing and maintaining the Postal Service shall not be apportioned to impair the overall value of such service to the people.
In keeping with this operational mandate, the Postal Service delivers to 152,920,433 delivery points, adding 773,882 million in FY2013 alone. We also offer customers more than 70,000 retail access points including Post Offices, self-service kiosks and services offered through Stamps to Go, Contract Postal Unit, and Approved Shipper locations, as well as online and Stamps by Mail service options.
