The Indiana Publisher

Rafe Morrissey National Newspaper Association On March 8, the Senate passed the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 by a mar- gin of 79-19. The bill is identi- cal to the one passed several weeks ago by the House of Representatives meaning that it will be enacted into law as soon as it is signed by the president. President Biden has indicated that he will do so in the near future. This bill represents a com- promise that the NNA support- ed along with the vast majority of mailers with Postmaster General Brennan and the lead- ers of the postal unions in 2015. That agreement followed years of effort to effectively advocate for our interests and success- fully push back against USPS efforts to include language allowing for the elimination of Saturday mail delivery and ulti- mately provided an opportunity to include a provision ensuring that the 6-day delivery via an integrated delivery for mail and packages will be permanent. The consistent commitment from NNA's Public Policy Oversight Committee and sup- port from the membership on numerous letters and grassroots outreach efforts have made this day possible. In the years leading up to this moment, we were able to stave off an intense effort by former Postmaster General Pat Donohue and prominent allies in the Congress to end Saturday delivery, converted that engage- ment into coordinating resolu- tions supporting 6-day delivery that garnered passage-proof majorities in four successive Congresses and finally to the passage of postal reform today. The bill also includes provi- sions that improve the process of sampling to help newspapers build circulation that NNA helped craft and will be very helpful The financial benefits of this legislation are substantial and will resolve $55 billion in liabilities, strengthening the USPS's balance sheet and reducing the amounts needed from rate revenue. There is still work needed to ensure that those benefits are translated into less rate increase authority and that effort is already underway through initiatives to pursue a require- ment for a new review of rate limits by the PRC in appropria- tions legislation and a petition directly to the PRC for which we have already begun to enlist allies. Many challenges lie ahead but NNA should feel very good about the impact it has had on the process, the tangible gains it has achieved, and the oppor- tunity to continue to shape policy that benefits our member publishers. March 2022 Page 3 NNA-backed Postal Reform bill passes U.S. Senate 79-19 The consistent commitment from NNA's Public Policy Oversight Committee and support from the membership on numerous letters and grassroots outreach efforts have made this day possible. The Nina Mason Pulliam Environmental Journalism Award was created through a grant by the Pulliam Trust to the Hoosier State Press Association Foundation to recognize Indiana journalists for outstanding reporting on environ- mental issues. The award was part of the HSPA Better Newspaper Contest for the first time in 2018. Entries for 2022 are due April 28. For more information on the contest, visit https://bit.ly/3KP1h80. Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust $1,000 Environmental Journalism Award Hoosier State Press Association Foundation Agreement follows years of advocacy, push back

• Cover