Says Decision ‘Will Result in Fewer Magazines in the Mail and Fewer Titles’
Washington, D.C., November 17, 2021 – MPA – the Association of Magazine Media – today expressed profound disappointment with the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to dismiss MPA’s legal challenge to the rules allowing above-inflation rates that the U.S. Postal Service implemented on August 29, 2021.
“MPA believes the case was wrongly decided. Postal rate increases above the rate of inflation will inevitably result in fewer magazines in the mail and fewer titles,” said MPA President and Chief Executive Officer Brigitte Schmidt Gwyn. “MPA will not stop fighting for fair treatment for all magazines and other mailers.”
On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied MPA’s and other mailer associations’ challenge to Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) rules authorizing large, above-inflation price increases on periodicals and other pieces of mail. The court held that the PRC acted within the legal authority that Congress gave it, and the court also found that the PRC engaged in reasoned decision making under the Administrative Procedure Act. Unfortunately, this means that the major price increases that took effect on August 29, 2021 will remain in effect.
“We will continue to seek legislative solutions for magazine media mailers with Members of Congress and press the U.S. Postal Service management and Board of Governors to moderate future rate increases. As always, our goal is to protect the valuable content magazine publishers create that makes consumers look forward to their next mailbox moment,” said Schmidt Gwyn.