The last time the U.S. Post Office was reformed a first-class stamp cost 6 cents, the postmaster general was a member of the president’s Cabinet and the world’s first e-mail wouldn’t be sent for another year. That was 34 years ago, the Postal Service is now only a part of a $900 billion a year industry it used to own – a part that is losing mail volume even as the number of potential customers expands -meaning that it is a shrinking part. An overhaul has been overdue, but only this year has it seemed likely.

That’s partly because the president’s commission on postal reform last year found nearly three dozen ways the service could be improved and the General Accounting Office concluded the $90 billion unfunded liability carried by USPS made it urgent that Congress enact “fundamental reforms to minimize the risk of a significant taxpayer bailout or dramatic postal rate increases.” Congress is ready to act, too: A bill by Sens. Susan Collins and Thomas Carper takes up the concerns of these two reports, reasserts the necessity of universal access to service and overhauls the review process for rate increases.

Two major changes are financial. The bill, called the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2004, repeals a provision that locks up in an escrow account overpayments made by the postal service to the Civil Service Retirement System. Over 60 years, that would free up an estimated $78 billion. Second, unlike all other agencies, the postal service cannot count on the Treasury to fund pension benefits of its employees who are retired members of the military. The bill would change that, a move worth $27 billion to the postal service. It would also switch those workers over age 65 who are receiving workers’ comp onto the its retirement system.

The rate-setting process takes about 18 months, which is too long a time for the USPS to respond to changing market conditions. Under the bill, a cap is set for classes of mail and rates can change within 30 to 45 days. Cross subsidy of products are prohibited but the re-empowered USPS board of governors would have more flexibility in setting the rates. The authority would also come with new responsibilities for making the decisions transparent to Congress.

These reforms have been widely supported by postal unions, a multitude of businesses dependent on mailings and government reformers because they can see what Sen. Collins put well: “The postal service is at risk of a ‘death spiral’ of decreasing volume and increasing rates that lead to further decreases in volume.”

The bill is scheduled to be marked up in the Governmental Affairs Committee during the first week of June, where Sen. Collins is chairman and several members of both parties have signed on as co-sponsors. The bill stands a strong chance on the floor of the Senate and its counterpart in the House also looks good. Not many initiatives go far in Congress the summer before a presidential election, but a solid overhaul of the postal service could make it and should be supported.