The U.S. Postal Service announced last week it will not raise prices for market dominant mail products this coming January.  

While the release specifically refers to no increases for stamps, the National Newspaper Association confirmed that newspaper rates will also remain at current levels until at least July 2025. 

This will be the first time since the beginning of 2023 that the USPS has refrained from raising prices two times a year.

The NNA has been vocal with decision makers in Congress, at the Postal Regulatory Commission and within the USPS about the negative impact twice-a-year increases are having on newspapers.  

“It remains to be seen whether this is the beginning of a new approach to limit volume-killing rate hikes or a one-time respite,” the NNA said in a news release.

In related news, U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) last week introduced the Upending Secret Postal Shutdowns Act to prohibit the USPS from shutting down a post office under the guise of an “emergency suspension” without first notifying impacted communities and providing a full justification for the closure. 

The Fults Post Office recently closed, resulting in mail for that ZIP code now being routed through the Valmeyer Post Office. 

The Waterloo Post Office serves as remote manager of the Valmeyer and Maeystown post offices, and similarly did so for Fults.

Under current law, postal operations can be suspended due to emergencies ranging from staffing shortages to natural disasters, with a loose expectation that service be restored within 280 days. 

Bost’s proposed bill would set strict periodic deadlines for public notifications, require community input, and mandate annual reports to Congress on long-term postal shutdowns.

“This is an issue I hear a lot about from my constituents; we can’t rest until we improve postal services in Southern Illinois and across the United States,” Bost said.

Bost said his office has received hundreds of complaints in recent years from constituents in nearly every county of his district regarding post office closures and mail service delays. 

He recently visited USPS’s regional distribution center in St. Louis and met with postal officials in Washington, D.C., to share his constituents’ concerns and urge an immediate resolution.

To file a complaint about mail service, call 1-800-275-8777 or visit usa.gov/postal-service-complaints.