Mailers should take their concerns about the USPS directly to their members of Congress while in town, Postmaster General Jack Potter told the National Postal Forum in Washington, DC.

He was referring to the postal reform bills now pending in the House and Senate. "The time for talking to one another is over," he said.

He also reiterated his pledge to hold postage rates stable until 2006. But Potter warned that the pending postal reform legislation could well determine the size of future rate increases.

He also called on the mailing industry to join in the effort to grow mail volume by not only making it easier to process and distribute the mail, but by spreading the word about the value of direct mail to small and medium-sized business owners.