Hallmark will stop at nothing to ensure you don’t have to wait an extra two days for your birthday card.
The famed greeting card company has stepped up its efforts to preserve Saturday mail delivery, registering a current staffer with the government as an official lobbyist, as the postal service battle heats up in Washington, the Hill reports. The Postal Service, which lost $16 billion last year, announced in February that it planned to stop delivering mail on Saturdays starting in August in an attempt to save $2 billion a year.
Hallmark didn't respond to an e-mailed request for comment from The Huffington Post.
Registering an in-house lobbyist is one of many steps Hallmark has taken recently to try to influence lawmakers. The company spent $240,000 on lobbying last year, according to OpenSecrets.org. Hallmark hired new lobbyists earlier this year, including Rafe Morrissey, the chief lobbyist for the Greeting Cards Association.
“We think it's very serious for the postal service and if it's very serious for the postal service, it's very serious for us,” Morrissey told the Hill. “More than 60 percent of our cards are delivered through the postal service.”
Hallmark, which made $4.1 billion in sales in 2011, stands to take a hit if the Postal Service cuts Saturday mail delivery. Still, it’s not the only company that could suffer. The National Newspaper Association participated in a coordinated lobbying effort earlier this month aimed at preserving Saturday delivery.
Luckily for the groups, it seems that some of the pressure on lawmakers may be working. Congress passed legislation last week mandating six-day mail delivery to try and stop the service cuts.
Related
Before You Go
