00                      SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 8                                                                     
01 Urging the United States Congress to intervene to eliminate or reduce the planned                                       
02 parcel post and bypass mail rate increases adopted by the United States Postal Service                                  
03 because of the severe effect the rate increases will have on rural Alaska.                                              
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
05       WHEREAS the United States Postal Service intends to increase overall fourth class                               
06 parcel post rates to rural Alaska on May 14, 2007, by between 29 and 58 percent, depending                              
07 on the average bundle rate; and                                                                                         
08       WHEREAS rural Alaskans depend on the bypass mail system to bring the products                                   
09 and food they consume every day; and                                                                                    
10       WHEREAS the parcel post rates are also the bypass mail rates; and                                               
11       WHEREAS the rate increase is believed to be the largest single rate increase for                                
12 bypass mail consumers; and                                                                                              
13       WHEREAS many Alaskans who live in rural Alaska live on fixed incomes; and                                       
14       WHEREAS high fuel costs in rural Alaska are already forcing families to make                                    
15 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 like those in Bethel will be reflected                              
07 in communities located outside of the urban areas of the state and will cause financial                                 
08 hardship in the remote villages; and                                                                                    
09       WHEREAS the pending rate increase, if implemented, will have a substantial                                      
10 negative effect on the lives of rural Alaskans;                                                                         
11       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                        
12 Congress to intervene to eliminate or reduce the pending parcel post and bypass mail rate                               
13 increases adopted by the United States Postal Service as they apply to rural Alaska.                                    
14       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President                              
15 of the United States; the Honorable John E. Potter, United States Postmaster General; and the                           
16 Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable                                
17 Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.