A coalition of organizations representing commercial and nonprofit users of the mail on July 23 petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to issue a stay preventing the U.S. Postal Service from increasing postal rates on August 29. The National Newspaper Association, the News Media Alliance and the Association of Magazine Media were among the organizations petitioning.
The petitioners’ request is supported by the sworn statements of Consumer Reports, Meredith Corporation, Multi Media Channels and Yankee Publishing, among others.
The motion for a stay is the second attempt to halt the rates, brought in a lawsuit challenging the Postal Regulatory Commission’s authority to allow rate increases beyond the inflation-based cap in the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. Before USPS announced the August increase, the mailers’ groups had asked for a judicial stay, but were turned down because the size of the rate increase was not yet known.
Increases of nearly 9% are ahead for Periodicals newspapers, writes the NNA.
Oral argument in the appeal is set for Sept. 13. Unless the court grants the stay, the postage rates will go into effect before the court makes it decision about the PRC authority to allow the increases. Once the increased rate money is spent, it cannot be refunded by USPS.
A copy of the motion is available here.
The petitioners have not seen a ruling yet, Tonda Rush of the NNA told News & Tech today.
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