Morgan Wolaver Named AUSPL President As Terry Phillips Retires May 2, 2012 At the annual AUSPL board of directors meeting on May 2, 2012, AUSPL President Terry L. Phillips announced his retirement, effective immediately, and stepped down as AUSPL President. The board elected long-time board member Morgan L. Wolaver as the new President. "I am confident Morgan will guide our organization in the direction that will best serve our lessors and will build on the progress we have made in making our voice heard on Capitol Hill," says outgoing President Terry Phillips. "While it saddens me to leave as president, I am pleased to turn over leadership to Morgan." Terry will continue to serve as a member of the board. Morgan will be working with the lobbyist team and traveling to Washington DC to confer with lawmakers as well as Postal Service officials to ensure AUSPL members' concerns are heard on Capitol Hill and at USPS headquarters. He is familiar with the ebb and flow of Washington DC, having worked on lobbying efforts in other industries. "I am looking forward to working with our members and providing them with the tools necessary to succeed as challenges to our postal investments continue in the areas of lease renewals, postal reform legislation and a financially-strapped Postal Service," says Morgan. "We will continue to work diligently to save universal service for our fellow citizens in small towns and rural communities." Morgan joined the AUSPL board in 2000 and is a second generation postal property investor. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience about postal facilities to the Association. During high school and college, Morgan worked on postal facilities and residential construction projects for his father, who built more than 150 facilities over a 33-year period. After college, Morgan spent 17 years in the construction sector of the oil industry. In 1995, he began managing the family's Post Office investments.. He also participated in construction of new leased facilities. Today, he manages postal properties and negotiates leases with the Postal Service.

	USPS New Strategy Will Reduce Post Office Hours at 13,000 Facilities Nationwide May 14, 2012 This week's new strategy to reduce hours of operation at 13,000 post offices nationwide is detailed with a simple pdf listing the affected offices (alphabetical by state but not even alphabetical by town within each state).

	Post Offices Targeted To Close Will Remain Open! May 10, 2012 The U.S. Postal Service announced Wednesday, May 9, 2013, that the 3,700 post offices targeted in May for closing will remain open. Instead, USPS plans to reduce the hours of operation at 13,000 rural post offices from a full eight-hour day to between two and six open hours per day, a move that the struggling mail service claims will save about $500 million per year. This is great news for the lessor community as it means that USPS will need to continue leases on these facilities. House and Senate leaders are still considering the current legislation to further reform the USPS and continue to discuss future closing options in both rural and urban America. As this plan is implemented and further reform is discussed, AUSPL remains vigilant in our efforts to ensure that the voices of the lessor community are heard in the halls of Congress.

	Endangered Rural Post Offices Get A Reprieve May 9, 2012 By msnbc.com news services. The financially struggling U.S. Postal Service sought Wednesday to tamp down concern over wide-scale cuts, revealing it will seek to keep thousands of rural post offices open with shorter hours. Ax Won't Fall On Rural Post Offices May 9, 2012 WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- The U.S. Postal Service is backing off a previous plan to close thousands of post offices, and will instead cut hours at 13,000 rural facilities in an effort to save $500 million a year.

	Members of Congress Write Speaker Boehner & Minority Leader Pelosi to Protect Rural Post Offices May 8, 2012 Rep. Adrian Smith and 16 Congressional colleagues recently wrote to Speaker of the House John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi expressing their concern that the Postal Service may be "misguided in targeting rural postal facilities as a means of addressing its shortfall." The letter recognizes the financial challenges facing USPS, but says tough decisions "must not jeopardize access to postal services on which millions of rural Americans rely each and every day." These Members of Congress want USPS to make changes which provide savings but do not cause disruption of services. The letter noted the Postal Reform Act (H.R. 2309) now seeks to defend rural post offices, but the lawmakers would like to see additional protections put in place for rural America. As you heard at our recent annual conference, the U.S. Senate has included protections for rural America and AUSPL is working vigorously to ensure that additional protections are included in the House version of reform as well as any final bill that is signed by the President. Here is the letter by Rep. Adrian Smith and 16 other members of Congress. (PDF format)

	Chairman Issa and Rep. Ross respond to Rep. Smith and other members of Congress May 8, 2012 In their letter to Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi, Chairman Darrell Issa and Rep. Dennis Ross, who wrote H.R. 2309, responded to the letter from Rep. Adrian Smith and the other members of Congress. In their reply, Representatives Issa and Ross said USPS must find a way to "adjust to diminishing demand while protecting service for those most reliant on continued mail usage." They agreed that "the cost of operating the smallest post offices accounts for only 10% of the cost of running all post offices." Further, they recognized the importance of rural post offices and welcomed the committee markup of H.R. 2309 restricting the number of small post offices subject to closure by the Commission that the bill creates. The amendment ensures that no more than 10% of closures or consolidations made by the Commission concern the 10,000 smallest postal facilities. Further, Rep. Issa and Rep. Ross stated that they would welcome further restrictions on the closing of small and rural post offices and would work with Rep Smith on an amendment to accomplish that goal. Read the letter here. (PDF format)

	Senators John Rockefeller and Joe Manchin III Support Extending Moratorium on Postal Closures May 7, 2012 Read the letter here. (PDF format)

	Lessors: Has Your Post Office Been Emergency Suspended Or Closed Due To A Dispute Over Termination Clauses, Commission Fees? April 25, 2012 We are conducting a study to determine if lessors have had their leases terminated or not renewed due to a disagreement with termination clauses, commission fees required by a third party negotiating on behalf of the Postal Service and similar issues. Click here to take the survey

	April 25, 2012 Senate passes S.1789, the Postal Reform Bill, by a vote of 62-37

	Legislative Update by Alan Suskey & Niles Godes, Three Bridges Advisors April 25, 2012 Senate Bill protects Rural Post Offices The Senate continues to make progress on Postal Reform legislation and, if all goes according to plan, may wrap up the legislation today. Senators proposed a slew of amendments, but both parties have worked hard to compromise on many of those amendments to avoid time-consuming roll call votes and protracted floor debate. March 27, 2012 House Rules Committee Approves H.R. 2309 with Modification The House Rules Committee approved the House postal reform measure H.R. 2309 on March 26, 2012, with a slight technical modification. The modification does not negatively affect the position of AUSPL and the leasing program, which is of concern to AUSPL member lessors. In fact, the Committee made slight changes to the process by which Congress could reject the recommendations for closing if a BRAC-like board were established for post office closings. Floor action for a final vote of H.R. 2309 has not yet been scheduled, but it will likely increase now that the Rules Committee has taken action. We will continue to work with members of Congress to ensure they understand and support the leasing program. We will keep you updated as postal reform legislation makes its way through Congress.

	Save Our Post Office Packets (Lessor and Community Leader) Now Available In the Members Only Section If you are a member of AUSPL and do not have your user name and password, please call or email us, we will verify your membership and give you the codes to gain access. If you are not yet a member of AUSPL and would like to join our organization, please go to the Join Now section of the website to be immediately signed up. Or if you prefer, click here for a membership application. We look forward to hearing from you. With 3,654 post offices, mostly rural, targeted for possible closure and mail services liable to relocate to "Village Post Offices" in local stores, gas stations, pharmacies, libraries or town halls, lessors should keep in contact with their postmasters, local elected officials and civic leaders think of your Mayor, City Manager, Chamber of Commerce President in the community where the post office is located.

	Senator Jon Tester Defends Rural Post Offices April 18, 2012 During consideration of Postal Reform legislation on the Senate floor this afternoon, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) made the following statement regarding the postal leasing program. Sen. Tester is a key Member of the Senate Committee with jurisdiction over the Postal Service, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. Sen. Tester's comments focus on rural America because he represents Montana, but his remarks address the importance of the program to the nation as a whole.

	Postal Regulatory Commission To Consider Changes In Its Advisory Opinion Process April 10, 2012 Washington, DC - The Postal Regulatory Commission today issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking asking the public for comments and suggestions on possible improvements to its rules for considering Postal Service requests for Advisory Opinions related to significant changes in service. The full text of the Advance Notice is available on the Commission website, www.prc.gov. Comments are due within 60 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.

	Current Legislation Reform Measures December, 2011 Click here for detailed summaries of the postal reform legislation now pending in Congress, including proposed bills S1789 by Senators Lieberman, Collins, Carper, Brown and HR2309 by Representative Issa & Ross.   (PDF format)

Now Available in Members Only!

Last Chance Tips on Negotiating With USPS. What to Do When You've Done All You Can & USPS Moves Out

Click here to download your copy of this handbook

	Postal Service to Review 3,600+ Post Offices for Closure Spring, 2011 Click here for a state-by-state list of post offices USPS would like to study for possible closure. The Postal Service is looking at post offices nationwide. Just because your post office is on the list, it doesn't mean it will be closed. Conversely, post offices not targeted may not be safe, either. This list will likely constantly change. Further, there are federal laws which require USPS to follow specific closing procedures which take time.

	Are Your Records With the Postal Service Up To Date? Go to the Members Only section for information on the forms you need if you change your mailing address, or if you need a change of ownership form for your post office, etc. To update your information with AUSPL please click here.

	Get More Out Of Your AUSPL Membership Go to Members Only, where you will find: • Save Our Post Office Packages for Lessors, Community Leaders • Lessors Beware! A Termination Clause May Lead to Default on Your Post Office Loan • Tips for Negotiating Your USPS Lease • Resources for roofers, commercial property inspectors, lenders, etc And more! If you're not a member, click here to