[Senate Hearing 106-554] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] S. Hrg. 106-554 NOMINATIONS OF ALAN C. KESSLER AND CAROL WALLER POPE ======================================================================= HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON THE NOMINATIONS OF ALAN C. KESSLER, OF PENNSYLVANIA, TO BE A GOVERNOR OF THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, AND CAROL WALLER POPE, OF WASHINGTON, DC, TO BE A MEMBER OF THE FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY __________ MARCH 30, 2000 __________ Printed for the use of the Committee on Governmental Affairs __________ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 2000 _______________________________________________________________________ For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS FRED THOMPSON, Tennessee, Chairman WILLIAM V. ROTH, Jr., Delaware JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut TED STEVENS, Alaska CARL LEVIN, Michigan SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi MAX CLELAND, Georgia ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania JOHN EDWARDS, North Carolina JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire Hannah S. Sistare, Staff Director and Counsel Dan G. Blair, Senior Counsel Michael L. Loesch, Counsel, International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services Subcommittee Joyce A. Rechtschaffen, Minority Staff Director and Counsel Peter A. Ludgin, Minority Professional Staff Member Nanci E. Langley, Minority Deputy Staff Director, International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services Subcommittee Darla D. Cassell, Administrative Clerk C O N T E N T S ------ Opening statements: Page Senator Cochran.............................................. 1 Senator Stevens.............................................. 4 Senator Akaka................................................ 11 WITNESSES Thursday, March 30, 2000 Hon. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., a U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware....................................................... 1 Hon. Rick Santorum, a U.S. Senator from the State of Pennsylvania 3 Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Delegate in Congress from the District of Columbia........................................... 4 Alan C. Kessler, of Pennsylvania, nominated to be a Governor of the U.S. Postal Service........................................ 6 Carol Waller Pope, of Washington, DC, nominated to be a Member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority.......................... 8 Alphabetical List of Witnesses Kessler, Alan C.: Testimony.................................................... 6 Biographical information..................................... 15 Pre-hearing questionnaire.................................... 40 Pope, Carol Waller: Testimony.................................................... 8 Biographical information..................................... 61 Pre-hearing questionnaire.................................... 71 NOMINATIONS OF ALAN C. KESSLER AND CAROL WALLER POPE ---------- THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2000 U.S. Senate, Committee on Governmental Affairs, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:02 a.m., in room SD-342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Thad Cochran presiding. Present: Senators Cochran and Stevens. Senator Cochran [presiding.] The Committee will please come to order. Today we are pleased to have a hearing on the nominations of Alan Kessler to be Governor of the U.S. Postal Service and Carol Waller Pope to be a Member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Mr. Kessler is nominated to serve a 9-year term as a Governor of the U.S. Postal Service, and Ms. Pope is nominated to serve a 5-year term as a Member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority. We welcome you both as well as those who have come to introduce you to the Committee this morning. At this point, I am going to recognize the senior Senator from Delaware--well, he is the senior Senator present from Delaware--Mr. Biden, my good friend, and then, Rick Santorum, the distinguished Senator from Pennsylvania, who are both here to introduce Mr. Kessler. Senator Cochran. Senator Biden. TESTIMONY OF THE HON. JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE Senator Biden. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. As your colleague who is among the most senior of senior Senators from Alaska knows, I am the second-most senior junior Senator in the United States, trumped only by Strom Thurmond's seniority over Senator Hollings. But I am happy and have been satisfied in that position for a long time, and I am honored to serve with Bill Roth and to serve, ``under'' Bill Roth. Mr. Chairman and Senator Stevens, I have the honor of introducing Alan Kessler, who is accompanied by his wife Gail and his parents, Alan and Jo, who reside in my home State of Delaware. I know you might ask, ``Why is a Senator from Delaware speaking on behalf of a resident of Philadelphia?'' Well, aside from Alan being a native of my State, as most of you know, the geographic distance between my home town of Wilmington, Delaware and Philadelphia is only a few short miles, and because of this, as Senator Specter and Senator Santorum both know, I sometimes get involved in matters that I maybe should not be involved in in Pennsylvania, and they sometimes get involved in matters to help me in my State of Delaware. So it has been a cooperative arrangement which I have enjoyed. I have known Alan Kessler for about 10 years, Mr. Chairman, and aside from being an all-around good guy and native Delawarean, he is a graduate of my alma mater as well. He went on to earn his juris doctorate from the University of Maryland Law School. Alan has been extremely involved in the Philadelphia community. He was a Township Commissioner in Lower Merion Township, which is about as big as my entire State in population, literally and not figuratively, from 1988 through 1999. In 1992, Alan was co-chair of the Mayor's Transition Committee for Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, and he is a past member of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. In addition, in 1994, he was appointed by the President to serve as Vice Chairman of the Presidential Congressional Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management, and served in that post until 1998. Currently, he is not only a member of the Executive Committee of Philadelphia 2000, but also a member of both the Executive Committee of Central Philadelphia Development Corporation and the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation. And, as if all this were not enough, he has been appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to serve as chairman of the Continuing Legal Education Board. Finally, Mr. Chairman, Alan is also somewhat of a legend in the Philadelphia legal community due to the superb legal skills that he has brought to some of the area's most notable legal cases. He has represented clients ranging from major corporations to local government, and he understands the value of public service as well as the bottom line. This is an important and unique function that he will bring, I think, to the Postal Service Commission, which has a duty to serve all of us at a low rate. Alan is someone whom I know many residents of the Philadelphia area have a great deal of respect and admiration for, and I have every confidence that the savvy and talent that he brings will make him an excellent addition to the Postal Service Board of Governors. Why he would want the job is beyond my comprehension, but I am glad he does. Nine years sounded like a sentence you were reading out. But it is, as we all know, an incredibly important responsibility; it is something that the public has come to take for granted as if it is automatic. As a matter of fact, with the experience of the four of us in here, I think we could probably all agree that the public still thinks we somehow control all aspects of the Postal Service when in fact we control very little of it. And that is why I think it is so important that we pick people who we believe will be able to bring professional credentials to that responsibility, which will make one of the largest operations in the world function well and at the lowest possible cost to the consumer--in this case, our constituents. There is more to say about Alan, but I will leave that to others. Let me just suggest that I think this is a first-rate, serious, professional nominee, and I want to thank--not that it is my position to do so, and it may sound somewhat gratuitous and I do not mean it that way--I want to thank Senator Santorum for the way in which he has shepherded this along, and I thank him for allowing me to go first. I yield the floor. Senator Cochran. Thank you very much, Senator Biden. Senator Santorum. TESTIMONY OF HON. RICK SANTORUM, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA Senator Santorum. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I always defer to my senior colleagues, and certainly, to the very distinguished and terrific Member from Delaware, thank you for being here for Alan and for supporting the nomination. I support the nomination, and I will not go through all the details. I think Joe covered them very adequately. Just let me comment on a couple of them. First, I think Joe's mention of understanding the bottom line is very important. In Alan's work at one of the most distinguished law firms in Philadelphia, Wolf Block--a major law firm and an incredibly significant player in Philadelphia-- he has represented small companies, he has represented entrepreneurs, he has represented larger companies, all in the area of defense. Working with those companies, I think he has a great understanding of that bottom line and an understanding of business and how business works and how it works efficiently and best, and that understanding from that perspective coupled with, as I know the Senator from Mississippi understands, that legal background, which is important to understand the intricacies of how to deal with a variety of issues that are going to come before the Postal Commission, I think are very, very important. Second, he has experience in the public sector. He is an elected township commissioner. As Joe mentioned, Lower Merion Township is one of the fastest-growing townships in Pennsylvania. It abuts the City of Philadelphia. It is huge, it is diverse, and it is a very complex political dynamic there, and he represents that area as a commissioner, has held that commission, and again, I think understands the responsibility of public service in that regard as well as the other appointments that he has had. He has also run for elected office. So I think Alan brings a very good breadth of experience, of background, and of education that could be very helpful to this commission. As I commented earlier, the Postal Commission is probably the least partisan commission I can think of, and someone who has a good, solid background and understanding of business and a bottom line, who has an understanding of the complexities of law that you are going to have to deal with, plus the understanding of public service, I think is very well-suited for that. So I heartily recommend him, and I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, in particular for your willingness to move forward expeditiously with this hearing. You did so above and beyond the call of duty, and I just want to thank you personally for your great generosity in moving this nomination and this hearing expeditiously. It is very much appreciated. I also want to thank Senator Thompson for his work in getting through the interviewing process and helping that along the way. So, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator Cochran. Thank you, Senator Santorum, for your eloquent statement as well. Thank you both. I am going to now turn to Eleanor Holmes Norton, the Delegate from the District of Columbia to the U.S. House of Representatives, to introduce Carol Waller Pope. TESTIMONY OF HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, A DELEGATE IN CONGRESS FROM THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Ms. Norton. Thank you very much, Chairman Cochran. It is a special pleasure for me to introduce Carol Waller Pope, a distinguished citizen of this city who has earned her reputation in the very agency to which she has been nominated to be a member, the Federal Labor Relations Authority. It is particularly gratifying to see a young lawyer work so hard and move up the ranks, after having spent virtually her entire career at the agency and having served with such distinction that the President of the United States would indeed name her a member of the Authority, itself. As you are aware, this agency deals in a rarified and specialized branch of labor law and labor management relations. So, it is particularly helpful to have a member who has spent virtually her entire career there and has encyclopedic knowledge of the Authority and of the field. Ms. Pope is particularly well-qualified by professional reputation, by educational background and experience, and by her demonstrated deep understanding of Federal labor-management relations. She is also well-qualified by virtue of her law degree from Northeastern University Law School, her B.A. from Simmons College on whose board she serves, and the additional courses on industrial and labor relations she has taken at the Cornell University. It is with great pride that I recommend her to you and believe that her distinguished career speaks for itself as to why she was nominated. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Senator Cochran. Thank you, Ms. Norton, for your presence here this morning and for your introduction of our nominee. Before we proceed further, I recognize the attendance of our distinguished colleague Senator Stevens from Alaska and will yield to him for any opening comments that he might desire to make. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR STEVENS Senator Stevens. This is a hard meeting for me, Mr. Chairman. I am one of the coauthors of the Postal Reform Bill that led to the creation of the Board of Governors. I am disturbed to learn that if Mr. Kessler is confirmed, there will be three members from Pennsylvania out of nine, and as a matter of fact, a fourth was born in Pennsylvania. That was supposed to be a national board that represents the entire United States, and I am just going to have to reserve my judgment on whether or not this is a proper thing to do, to have four members who are supposed to guide the Postmaster General and guide the operations of this enormous entity all coming from the same State. Thank you very much. Senator Cochran. Thank you, Senator. The rules of the Committee on Governmental Affairs require that an inquiry be conducted into the experience, qualifications, suitability and integrity of persons who are nominated to serve in offices that are within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Governmental Affairs. The Committee has received from the nominees all of the information that we were required to obtain. In addition, the nominees have responded in writing to pre-hearing questions submitted by the Committee concerning issues relevant to the office to which they have been nominated. We have received copies of the nominees' biographical information and responses to questions that have been submitted to them. These will be placed in the record as part of this hearing and are available upon request. The financial statements are available for inspection by the public in the Committee office. The staff of the Committee have reviewed all of this information and in addition have examined the Financial Disclosure Reports submitted by the Office of Government Ethics. The Committee's Ranking Member and I have reviewed the FBI Background Investigation Reports. The Committee rules require that all nominees be under oath while testifying before the Committee on matters relating to their suitability for office, including the policies and programs that the nominees will pursue if confirmed. So at this point, I will ask you both to stand and raise your right hand to take the oath. Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you, God? Mr. Kessler. I do. Ms. Pope. I do. Senator Cochran. Please be seated. I am going to allow each of you to make any statement or comments that you would like to make and to introduce any family members who are accompanying you. I met Mr. Kessler's parents and wife before the hearing began. Mr. Kessler, I am going to recognize you first to introduce your family and make any opening statement that you would like to before the Committee. TESTIMONY OF ALAN C. KESSLER,\1\ OF PENNSYLVANIA, TO BE A GOVERNOR OF THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE Mr. Kessler. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and let me also thank Senator Stevens, members of the staff, and other distinguished guests here today. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ Mr. Kessler's Responses to Biographical Information Questionnaire and Pre-Hearing Questions appear in the Appendix on pages 15 and 40 respectively. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- First, Mr. Chairman, although Senators Biden and Santorum had to run to other business, I would like to say that I am extremely honored and grateful to both of them for having taken the time out of the very important business that they conduct on behalf of the citizens of our great country and from the extraordinary demands on their schedules to introduce me this morning. I am particularly thankful to both of them for the support that I have received from such prominent members of this great legislative body. Mr. Chairman, I would like to introduce my wife Gail, who is sitting right behind me, as well as my parents, Jo and Al Kessler, and also introduce although they are not here today my children, Stacy, Mark, and Dan, who could not be with us because of school, although I am sure that if they had known they might have had a choice, they would have loved to use this hearing or, for that matter, anything else to get out of a day of school. I am truly humbled and deeply honored to be before you today on the matter of my outstanding nomination to serve as a Governor of the U.S. Postal Service. I do thank you, Mr. Chairman, as Senator Santorum said, for having scheduled this hearing and having scheduled it so expeditiously, as well as to the members of the staff of both the Committee and Subcommittee. As Senator Santorum and Senator Biden related to you, while my career has spanned over 20 years as a practicing lawyer, I have been involved for almost as long in some form of public service. From my first appointment in 1983, almost 17 years ago, by the then Mayor of Philadelphia to a board position overseeing building regulations to my subsequent appointments by two successive mayors to a number of other city board positions, including the city's License and Inspection Review Board, the City Planning Commission, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation and Central Philadelphia Development Corporation, I have dedicated a significant part of my career to serving the city in which I have lived and practiced my profession. I have also served, as Senators Santorum and Biden discussed, as an elected official in a suburban township with a population of approximately 58,000 residents and as such have dealt with a full spectrum of issues facing local governments, including budgetary and fiscal issues, public safety, public works, land development, and recreation matters. By the way, in that office, I dealt with a potential closing and relocation of a Postal Service facility. I have been appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to chair its Continuing Legal Education Committee, which oversees mandatory continuing legal education for all Pennsylvania lawyers. Finally, during the period 1994-1998, I served as vice chair of the Presidential Congressional Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management, a bipartisan commission that consisted of Presidential appointees as well as appointees of the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Minority Leader, Speaker of the House, and others. The Commission held hearings; it issued two reports to the White House and to Congress on the issues of risk assessment and risk management. In connection with that effort, I might add, I had the opportunity to work with both Senate and House committee staffers. I very much enjoyed my service on that commission, as I have in all other areas of public service in which I have been engaged for almost 20 years. After we completed the Risk Commission's work, I indicated a desire to perform additional service on a part-time board or commission at the Federal level. I expressed my interest in particular in the U.S. Postal Service because of some very important projects in which it had been involved in my city. I have also been very interested in the future of the Postal Service because of the increased competition that it will face and does face as a result of developing communications technology. This decade therefore will witness a critical challenge to an American institution-- part of our national fabric--which has engendered over the years such a high degree of confidence and trust from our citizens. I am intrigued by and very interested in helping the Postal Service meet this great challenge. As a business lawyer, I have represented a number of different business interests, including real estate developers, major corporations as well as entrepreneurial companies. I have been involved not only in the courtroom, but in negotiations and counseling, in an effort to achieve goals while utilizing alternative methods to resolve disputes. I believe that the cumulative experience that I have gained through my practice of law and through my public service will enhance my effectiveness on the Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service. I had the very interesting and thought-provoking experience of appearing before Committee staff a few weeks ago to address a number of issues facing the Postal Service. While I have much to learn, I do believe that I have the basic background and a fundamental appreciation of those issues. I look forward to the great challenges presented by these issues and to making what I hope will be a very worthwhile and lasting contribution to the business of the U.S. Postal Service. Once again, I would like to thank you, Mr. Chairman, as well as Senator Stevens and the other distinguished Members of this Committee and Subcommittee, and staff members, for providing me with a hearing on my nomination. I thank Senators Santorum and Biden for honoring me today with their very gracious introductions, and Senator Specter, who could not be with us today but who sent his chief of staff to be with me. I understand I have taken enough time. It is Carol's turn to offer an introduction. But after that, I would be delighted to attempt to answer any questions that you might have. Senator Cochran. Thank you, Mr. Kessler. Ms. Pope, we are happy to have you with us this morning. We welcome you and invite you to make any opening statement and to introduce any members of your family or other guests that you would like to at this point. Please proceed. TESTIMONY OF CAROL WALLER POPE,\1\ OF WASHINGTON, DC, TO BE A MEMBER OF THE FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY Ms. Pope. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ Ms. Pope's Biographical Information Questionnaire and Pre- Hearing Questions appear in the Appendix on pages 61 and 71 respectively. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I would like to recognize initially my sister, Lynda Butler from Philadelphia, who is here representing all of my family-- my elderly mother and sisters in Pittsburgh who could not be here today. I would also like to recognize members of my extended District of Columbia family--Donna Ramos Johnson and Langdon Johnson. It is important that I recognize Don Wasserman, Chairman of the FLRA, and Dale Cabinuss, a Member of the FLRA, who are present today. Unfortunately, member Phyllis Segal and the Federal Services Impasses Panel Chair Bonnie Castrey were unable to attend. Also, my boss, the FLRA General Counsel, Joseph Swerdzewski, could not be here today, but he is ably represented by members of his staff who are also my colleagues in the Office of the General Counsel. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing, and I would like to thank Congresswoman Norton for her kind words on my behalf and for her support. I would also like to thank all of the Committee staff for their work and for their meaningful assistance in their review of my nomination and the scheduling of this hearing. I am humbled that President Clinton has nominated me to be a Member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, an agency that I have worked in for over 20 years as a career civil servant. The mission of the FLRA, to exercise leadership in promoting stable, constructive labor-management relationships that contribute to a more effective and efficient government, reaches to the heart of the workings of our democracy. That mission has been the cornerstone of my professional life. If confirmed by the Senate, I will work with my colleagues to ensure that the FLRA fulfills its mission by adjudicating disputes fairly, impartially, and expeditiously; also by producing quality legal decisions that enhance the stability of Federal sector labor relations. Just as important, I will work with my colleagues to ensure that the FLRA continues its leadership role in assisting labor and management in collaboratively resolving their disputes. I greatly appreciate the trust and confidence that President Clinton has placed in me, and if confirmed, I pledge to discharge my duties to the best of my ability. Mr. Chairman, I thank you for the opportunity to appear today. Senator Cochran. Thank you, Ms. Pope. We welcome all of the family members and guests who are here today. We have some standard questions that are required of us under our rules and customs to ask of all nominees. I am going to go through those at this time and then add a couple of my own. Is there anything that you are aware of in your background that might present a conflict of interest with the duties and the office to which you have been nominated, Mr. Kessler? Mr. Kessler. Mr. Chairman, the answer to that is no, or at least I am not aware of any. We have made full disclosures in terms of my financial holdings and my client list. I did receive an opinion from the ethics officers of the Postal Service who reviewed that and sent a 2-page letter indicating that she saw no conflict at this time. Senator Cochran. Thank you. Ms. Pope. Ms. Pope. No, Senator. Senator Cochran. Do you know of any reason, personal or otherwise, that would in any way prevent you from fully and honorably discharging the responsibilities of the office to which you have been nominated? Mr. Kessler. No, I do not, Senator. Ms. Pope. No, Senator. Senator Cochran. Do you agree without reservation to respond to any reasonable summons to appear and testify before any duly-constituted committee of Congress if you are confirmed? Mr. Kessler. Yes, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Pope. Yes, Senator. Senator Cochran. Let me ask you, Mr. Kessler, there are several issues that are confronting the Postal Service right now, and as Chairman of the Subcommittee that has jurisdiction over that area of the Committee's responsibilities, I am planning to look into a couple of them with some hearings and discussions with those who are responsible and interested in the issues. One is the extent to which the Postal Service should be permitted, or is authorized by law, to get outside what would normally be considered the traditional scope of handling the mail. For example, in electronic communications, there are some suggestions that the Postal Service is going to embark on some new ways of handling communications, and there is a question about whether this is unfair competition with existing private enterprise activities in this area. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions along this line about that issue? Mr. Kessler. Mr. Chairman, I certainly hope to the extent my nomination comes out of Committee and is voted on that I will learn a lot more than I know now, as I have indicated. But I do believe that it is clear that the Postal Service does face a great challenge over the next several years. The Postmaster General has indicated that several billion dollars of revenues are at risk because of increased competition from electronic mail, and I think that if the Postal Service is going to meet those challenges, it is going to have to be innovative and creative in terms of keeping abreast with the internet. It has done that to a certain extent with PC Postage and other initiatives. There is an issue, as the Chairman raised, with the fact that the Postal Service, some say, has an unfair advantage, but on the other hand, just as it does have some advantages, it also has disadvantages. It does not have the ability to increase rates the same way enjoyed by the private sector. The rate process presently takes probably in excess of 10 months. The Postal Service, as we all know, has a universal service mandate. It is not a mandate that the private sector has. So there are advantages and disadvantages. I do agree that it is a significant issue and one that I would very much like to study and analyze in greater detail, but I do think that the Postal Service is going to have to move into the 21st Century, including through internet and electronic measures, if it is going to hope to compete and not, as the Postmaster General said, see a significant diminution in its revenues. Senator Cochran. One of the challenges of the Postal Service is dealing with the employee unions and other groups that are competing for higher wages, salaries, working conditions, and all the rest. To what extent does your background equip you to deal with the issues of labor and management relations that you would bring to this job? Mr. Kessler. Mr. Chairman, maybe I ought to defer to my colleague, Ms. Pope, and let her answer that question. But I have experience--I am not a labor lawyer, but I have general experience. When our past mayor took over in Philadelphia in 1992, the City of Philadelphia was on the brink of financial bankruptcy, and it was a matter of bringing the unions in--and I had some role in that--and labor and getting them to buy into the future of the city; and if that meant making sacrifices in some ways, there was no alternative. I have had that same experience in behalf of my township, Lower Merion Township, as we have seen, at least during the 1990's, our revenue sources dryed up and an absolute reluctance to increase taxes, and that meant considering new initiatives like privatization that we did not ultimately embark upon but that I felt we had an obligation and a duty to explore fully, and we did. In fact, we even went out with an RFP to look into privatization in some areas. So I think I have the experience to do that. I think that part of the trick with labor--and I do not mean to say it is a trick--is good communication and trust in getting labor to buy into the future. When the Postmaster General says that there is a significant potential decline in mail and therefore in revenues, it seems to me that that is something that labor needs to have a seat at the table on but needs to understand the challenges of the future if it in turn wants to have a future. Senator Cochran. Thank you. Ms. Pope, one of the responsibilities of the Federal Labor Relations Authority is to promote stability; that was something you acknowledged in your statement, and with a 20-year history of working with the agency, you are quite familiar with that. What do you see as one of the influences or some of the influences that you could bring to the challenge of promoting stability and dependability of excellence in performance of those who work for the Federal Government? Ms. Pope. Labor relations is the cornerstone, if you will, of an effective government, and in my view, the role of the Federal Labor Relations Authority in delivering and deciding issues that affect labor-management relations promotes stability. Our 20-year history in issuing decisions that clarify the statute, identify the parties--labor's and management's rights and responsibilities under the statute, promotes stability. Currently, our work in alternative dispute resolution and attempting to assist the parties in developing more collaborative relationships also operates to promote stability in Federal sector labor relations. Senator Cochran. Are there any suggestions that you could give to the legislative committee that has jurisdiction over this area of the law for reform or changes that would make the relationship between the government and its employees more stable and more productive? Ms. Pope. There are issues and areas that I am not prepared to speak about today with respect to legislative reform, particularly the scope of bargaining. In my view and in my role as a civil servant and as a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority staff, we have attempted to educate the parties about the statute and its requirements in an effort to promote stability. Senator Cochran. Thank you. Senator Akaka has joined us. He is the Ranking Member of our Subcommittee and my good friend from Hawaii. Senator Akaka, I would be happy to yield to you for any comments or questions you have of our nominees. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR AKAKA Senator Akaka. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. You are a good friend and very kind to me, and I want to thank you for having this hearing, which is very important to all of us. Mr. Kessler, I want to express my appreciation for your interest in serving the public as a member of the Board of Postal Governors; and to you, Ms. Pope, on your desire to serve the agency which you have called home for 20 years, as a member of the National Labor Relations Authority. You have both led exciting legal careers, as I read--one outside the Federal Government, the other within the Federal Government--and I am pleased to welcome both of you here today. My questions are very brief, Mr. Kessler. I would like to know how you will help protect universal service. I ask that question because I understand that the workload of the Postal Service is changing, and we expect that, given that there will be a projected decline in mail volume by 2003. I am interested in how you would handle this. Mr. Kessler. Senator, I would love to say that I have specific measures in mind to address it, but at this point, I do not, other than to say as I did discuss earlier, that I understand that that is probably the greatest challenge facing the Postal Service, and I do think it probably requires a combination of factors one of which is potentially--and again, I preface this by saying that I am learning and obviously hope to learn a lot more--but one of the things that probably needs to happen--and I understand there was or may be legislative initiatives--is allowing the Postal Service to increase its rates somewhat more quickly and expeditiously than it is able to now, 10, 11, or 12 months is a long time in today's world, when private companies can react on a daily if not even quicker basis. That is not to say that the method, the procedure in place right now is a bad one and that there should not be an opportunity for stakeholders to be heard on rate increases or, hopefully, rate decreases. It just means that is something that maybe can be shortened and improved. The Chairman asked me about whether the Postal Service should get involved in electronic mail initiatives, the internet. It has over the last several years in some respect, with postage stamp PC postage. I think the Postal Service needs to stay within its traditional area of services and not go beyond those services, but nonetheless I think it needs to update those services and be able to compete. It has got to be able to compete, and all the things that I have discussed today I think are important in that respect, including the need to bring labor into the mix, the need to continue to automate and to spend the money that has been spent over the last couple of years on automation. And in that respect, I believe automation alone has saved the Postal Service over the last year or two over $208 million. So I think that a combination of all those things has to be in place to allow the Postal Service to effectively compete over the next decade. Senator Akaka. Well, as you know, it will really demand some creative thinking as to how the Postal Service is going to deal with the decline in the mail load it receives. And as you point out, with the new technologies that are coming out, even those of us in Congress have to alter the way we work now that we have computers instead of filing cabinets. So our staffs and the Members have to shift in the way we do things here, and we find that we are doing more than we did before. Ms. Pope, as the ranking member on the Federal Services Subcommittee, I am always interested in labor-management relations. Given your service of 20 years on the FLRA, I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts on the issue of labor-management relations. Ms. Pope. We are in a period of some change in Federal labor relations, 5 years ago, starting to embark on a collaborative effort to have labor and management work together outside traditional litigation and adversarial means. A lot of progress has been made in the last 5 years, and a lot has happened in my 20-year career with respect to the development of the law in Federal sector labor relations. There is a lot of promise and expectations, if you will, on the part of both sides, labor and management, as we move forward and further develop areas of the law and look to cement, collaboration and nonadversarial methods of dispute resolution, all to promote a more effective and efficient government. Senator Akaka. As you know, labor issues and problems have changed over a period of time and will continue to change. I was interested in what you thought you would be facing, and I thank you for your comments. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. Senator Cochran. Thank you, Senator Akaka. We appreciate your participation in the hearing. Again let me welcome and commend those who have been nominated for these important responsibilities in our Federal Government. We appreciate your cooperation with our Committee. We have no further questions at this time, although Senators have an opportunity to submit written questions if they so choose, and we hope you will respond to any that are submitted in a timely fashion. The record will remain open for those questions and also any statements that Senators might want to put in the record. That concludes the hearing. We stand adjourned. 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