USPS Defends Its 'Life Blood:' Junk Mail

The US Postal Service, dependent upon junk mail, appears to be successfully fighting efforts to staunch its flow, the Washington Post reports. Though 18 states have introduced do-not-mail bills, none has passed, thanks in part to resistance from postmasters nationwide. "The post office and the business groups are pretty well-organized," one legislator said of opposition to such measures.

The Postal Service, which is legally barred from lobbying, has distributed 3,000 newsletters outlining the economic value of "standard mail," as it calls commercial bulk mailings. The Direct Marketing Association, a trade group representing the printing industry and retailers, is also heavily involved in lobbying efforts. Even environmental groups are in on it, the Post reports, since they solicit via direct mail. (More junk mail stories.)