Any fight in Washington will have special interests lined up on one side or another. I’ve reported before how the envelope lobby — yes, the envelope lobby — is lobbying against postal cutbacks. Well, so is Hallmark.
Catherine Ho at WaPo reports:
Hallmark Cards has long paid federal lobbyists to try to keep Saturday mail service, combat rising postage rates and shape other aspects of postal reform. But because the last Congress remained divided over how to overhaul the Postal Service — which lost a record $15.9 billion in the fiscal year ending last September — greeting-card makers are now preparing to reach out to new congressional leaders who could influence reform efforts. Hallmark this month hired Washington lobby firm EnGage, and is supporting a House bill introduced this month, HR-30, that would preserve six-day mail delivery service. In 2012, the Kansas City, Mo.-based card and gift retailer spent $240,000 to lobby on postal reform and tax issues.
The lobbying efforts provide a window into how the future of the Post Office can affect a wide swath of businesses that normally fall outside the scope of Washington’s regulatory reach — and how those businesses rely on lobbyists to shape laws that could make their products more or less desirable to consumers.
But, meanwhile, FedEx and UPS want reduced postal service.
