00Enrolled HJR 20                                                                                                         
01 Urging the United States Congress to intervene to eliminate or reduce the planned parcel post                           
02 and bypass mail rate increases adopted by the United States Postal Service because of the                               
03 severe effect the rate increases will have on rural Alaska.                                                             
04                                        _______________                                                                  
05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                             
06      WHEREAS the United States Postal Service intends to increase overall fourth class                                
07 parcel post rates to rural Alaska on May 14, 2007, by between 29 and 58 percent, depending                              
08 on the average bundle rate; and                                                                                         
09      WHEREAS rural Alaskans depend on the bypass mail system to bring the products                                    
10 and food they consume every day; and                                                                                    
11      WHEREAS the parcel post rates are also the bypass mail rates; and                                                
12      WHEREAS the rate increase is believed to be the largest single rate increase for                                 
13 bypass mail consumers; and                                                                                              
14      WHEREAS many Alaskans who live in rural Alaska live on fixed incomes; and                                        
15      WHEREAS high fuel costs in rural Alaska are already forcing families to make                                     
16 choices between heating their homes, feeding their families, and buying other life necessities                          

01 with limited incomes; and                                                                                               
02      WHEREAS, when the pending rate increase takes effect, a 40-pound parcel of food                                  
03 going from Anchorage to Bethel that currently costs 26.5 cents a pound will cost 37 cents a                             
04 pound, and the cost of a gallon of milk in Bethel will rise from the current price of $6.89 to                          
05 more than $8; and                                                                                                       
06      WHEREAS increased costs of delivery of food in Bethel will be reflected in every                                 
07 rural hub and cause subsequent financial hardship in all remote villages; and                                           
08      WHEREAS the pending rate increase, if implemented, will have a substantial                                       
09 negative effect on the lives of rural Alaskans;                                                                         
10      BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                         
11 Congress to intervene to eliminate or reduce the pending parcel post and bypass mail rate                               
12 increases adopted by the United States Postal Service as they apply to rural Alaska.                                    
13      COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President                               
14 of the United States; the Honorable John E. Potter, United States Postmaster General; and the                           
15 Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable                                
16 Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.