In July 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) classified the U.S. Postal Service budget as “high risk” and recommended oversight by Congress and the executive branch. Specifically, the GAO stated that "In a challenging economic environment and evolving economic environment, USPS is facing a deteriorating financial condition in which it does not expect to cover its financial expenses and obligations in fiscal years 2009 and 2010 " ("Restructuring", 2009, page 1). The GAO stated that mail volume in 2009 will likely decline by approximately $28 billion compared to 2008 and that the USPS will likely see declines in volumes over the next five years (“Restructuring,” 2009, p. 1). Clearly, the USPS is currently facing a dire financial situation in which major reforms are needed to ensure the agency's long-term success. In this policy review, I will focus specific attention on the Private Express Statutes, which grant the Postal Service a monopoly on first-class mail. As I will argue here, the Private Express statutes should be repealed for economic and historical reasons. The Private Express statutes should be repealed for economic reasons. In particular, the economic reasons given for maintaining a monopoly on first-class mail are based on two principles. First, that the Postal Service must maintain a monopoly to fulfill the universal service obligation under which it is legally obligated, and second, that the mail market is a natural monopoly and therefore the USPS must be allowed to operate as a monopoly in order to achieve economies of scale. I will examine both of these arguments in an economic light to determine their validity. The Postal Service does not rely on a monopoly to provide the univer...... middle of paper ......onLit.Cohen, R.H. (2003, February 20). Testimony before the Presidential Commission on the Postal Service. Retrieved January 15, 2010, from http://www.treas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/usps/testimony-docs/Cohen.pdfGeddes, R. (2003). The structure and effects of international postal reform. Retrieved January 23, 2010, from http://www.aei.org/paper/17066Geddes, R. (2005). US Postal Service policy watch reform [electronic version]. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 19(3), 217-232.Restructuring the United States Postal Service to Achieve Sustainable Financial Sustainability. (2009, July). Retrieved January 17, 2010, from http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09937sp.pdfPriest, G.L. (1975). The history of the postal monopoly in the United States. Journal of Law and Economics, 18(1), 33-80. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from JStor.