Thank you for the opportunity to submit this statement for the record. My name is Gary L. Poelstra, and I am President of the Association of United States Postal Lessors. I am submitting this statement on behalf of the AUSPL.

Although it is not that well known, many of the Post Offices throughout the country are owned not by the Postal Service but by the private sector, which lease the facilities to the Postal Service. The Association of United States Postal Lessors (AUSPL) represents those private sector owners.

Founded in 1981, the AUSPL is the largest nonprofit association for postal lessors in the country, serving more than 2,200 members nationwide. Our members range from owners of small, rural Post Offices to individuals and/or organizations owning multiple postal facilities, to still others who own more than 300 Post Office buildings.

Collectively, our members own approximately 30% of space leased by the United States Postal Service. The AUSPL Insurance Program, exclusively for our members, insures approximately 25 million square feet of space leased to the Postal Service.

Our mission is to help Post Office owners better manage their real estate investment, which is occupied by the Postal Service, and to help increase the efficiency of the postal system. We always strive to be positive and cooperative in our dealings with the Postal Service and its administrators. We have a tremendous respect for the Postal Service, and we appreciate the role it plays in American society, as well as the role we play in the postal system.

Private parties own more than 26,000 of the 35,000 Post Office facilities in this country and lease them to the Postal Service. Our members, the owners of many of these Post Offices, pay federal, state, and local taxes, abide by all local business and zoning regulations and have no immunity from federal, state or local law.

It should not be overlooked that the rental income to our members provides critical tax revenue to federal and state governments, to say nothing of the taxes paid by the tens of thousands of postal workers employed in these facilities. Local communities also depend on the real estate taxes we pay for the Post Office buildings we own and that are often the focal point of the community

We are concerned about the rhetoric we have heard about selling and closing small Post Offices, and the misconceptions that somehow this could save the Postal Service a significant amount of money, or somehow appreciably increase its efficiency. The truth is that most postal facilities are leased, and thus have no resale value to the Postal Service.

These facilities not only provide crucial access nationwide to the Postal Service for millions of American citizens; they also represent much more than simple outlets for delivery. Leased Post Offices, often in rural areas, are critical to rural America. The Post Office is the lifeblood of a community. Without it, the most basic connection for rural America is lost. In many towns, the Post Office is the only representative of the federal government. At the Post Office, customers can register for the draft, apply for Social Security cards and have access to posted federal notices of all kinds.

In addition to delivering the mail, Postmasters assist people with reading mail and paying bills. Seniors rely on the Post Office to interact with fellow citizens as well as receive medication, which may be adversely affected by weather or stolen if left outdoors in a mailbox.

More than 55 million people live in rural America and are served by these facilities. We believe that purchasing stamps, sending parcels, Express Mail and other common postal services that might be provided by grocery stores, Wal-Marts, banks and ATMs do not equate to universal service nor the personalized service people receive at a Post Office.

While we understand it's necessary to streamline Postal Service's operations, and can appreciate the need to optimize sorting and regional distribution facilities, we do not believe small Post Offices should be closed as a cost-cutting strategy. It is simply not wise, efficient, or appropriate. It would save little money and do widespread damage.

Instead, all Post Office functions must be evaluated on their merits to the entire system and to the country, not just on an economic value. Because the majority of facilities under 6,500 square feet are leased, the Commission will not be able to realize any proceeds from the sale of these small Post Offices if such facilities are closed.

Approximately 70% of Post Offices in this country may be considered community or rural facilities. The USPS has portrayed these Post Offices as locations that are consistently losing money for the Postal Service. While postal revenue is collected where the mailer enters the mail system, the cost of delivering those same letters and parcels is carried by the Post Office that ultimately delivers the mail. Clearly, this method of accounting does not allow for a reasonable assessment of which facilities make money or lose money.

To infer that more than half of the Post Offices in the country lose money is simply not fair, nor accurate. Individual Post Offices cannot be expected to operate as stand-alone profit centers. All departments must work together as an organization to accomplish universal service just like Fed Ex and UPS.

The Postal Service employs hundreds of thousands of people nationwide. Its facilities, trucks and letter carriers symbolize the mail and the federal government. Changes to any of these icons will impact every community. Rural customers are not second-class citizens; they deserve access to postal services just like their metropolitan "cousins."

AUSPL is confident that Congress will maintain universal service and hopes that access to a Post Office for the citizens of small town USA will not disappear. The cost of the 10,000 smallest Post Offices is less than 1% of the Postal Service's total budget. An inquiry initiated by the Postal Rate Commission reported that rural Americans are 26% of the population, and they make up 34% of Americans with incomes below the poverty line. Please allow these folks continued access to a Post Office.

On behalf of all AUSPL members and citizens of this country, I thank you for the opportunity to submit this statement for the record, and for your serious consideration of these matters. Please feel free to contact us should you have any questions or desire further information.