While the U.S. Senate prepares to consider controversial legislation that would reform how the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) handles health care, government watchdogs have released documents that show an "increasingly cozy relationship" between the independent regulator of USPS and lobbyists working to shape the legislation favorably for their clients. According to a statement from the Functional Government Initiative (FGI), the documents show the connection between the the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), a regulator responsible for transparency and oversight of USPS operations, and lobbyists for a coalition of package companies that include Amazon and eBay (known as the “Package Coalition”) that have relied on USPS to reduce one of their largest operating costs.

As the U.S. Senate prepares to consider bipartisan, yet controversial postal reform legislation, document disclosures show what a government watchdog calls a "cozy" relationship between the independent regulator of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the lobbyists working to shape the legislation favorably for their clients. The Functional Government Initiative (FGI) has stated they initiated numerous Freedom of Information Act requests to examine how USPS and its shareholders are countering competition from the private sector, carrying out efforts to eliminate contraband from its service, and dealing with rising retiree health costs.

According to a statement from the Functional Government Initiative (FGI), the documents show a connection between the The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), a regulator responsible for transparency and oversight of USPS operations, and lobbyists for a coalition of package companies that include Amazon and eBay (known as the “Package Coalition”), which have relied on USPS to reduce one of their largest operating costs.