Op-Ed: Postal service should let consumers show solidarity with Ukraine

Ukraine’s postage stamps are officially cooler than stamps in the United States. In the aftermath of Ukrainian soldiers bravely defying a Russian warship on Snake Island, artist Borys Grokh drew up an illustration of the scene and sent it to the Ukrainian Postal Service (Ukrposhta) for consideration as stamp artwork. The drawing, which can be seen here, shows a Ukrainian soldier flipping off the invading force. Following a vote on social media featuring some competing artwork, Ukrposhta announced that Grokh’s handiwork had won and would be featured on stamps across the war-torn country.

Undoubtedly, many Americans would love for their postage to feature similar images of fiery defiance in solidarity with Ukraine. Alternatively, religiously minded Americans might wish to send their mail featuring iconography from the embattled Orthodox Church of Ukraine. But, they’re prevented from doing so because of the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) refusal to permit customized postage. America’s mail carrier should allow its consumers to express their love and goodwill toward the people of Ukraine instead of hiding behind excuses and legalese.

The USPS wasn’t always this much of a buzzkill. Starting in 2004, the USPS permitted private businesses to sell customized postage to consumers. Everyone benefited from this arrangement (including the agency) which charged annual licensing fees for the right to resell postage and didn’t have to pay any money for the production, distribution, or promotion of customized postage. Meanwhile, consumers were able to get the images they wanted on stamps instead of the limited choices offered by the agency. Serious trouble began in 2017 when the USPS promulgated regulations forbidding any depiction of religious content.

In its private agreements with companies running the program, the agency had already unwisely forbidden violent or political imagery even if the content was mellow and depicted, say, a memorable battle. But the ban on religious content was especially troublesome for the agency, and plenty of commentators and stakeholders warned that the prohibition would create legal problems for the agency. The issue is that the USPS is a federal agency and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act stipulates that the “[g]overnment shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability…” The government can limit an individual’s free exercise rights, but only if there’s a compelling government interest at stake and the limitation is the least restrictive way to advance that interest.

Knowing it could never meet that standard, the agency pulled the plug on its Customized Postage program in 2020. Prominent custom postage printer Stamps.com was none too pleased and submitted comments to the Postal Regulatory Commission challenging the decision. The company correctly noted that the customized stamp market is worth at least $15 million per year, which the USPS shares with private stamp sellers. That total could quickly grow if the agency restarted the program and relaxed its content restrictions.

It’s even possible that the USPS is legally obligated to restart the program. Federal code 39 USC §404a prevents the agency from “establish[ing] any rule or regulation (including any standard) the effect of which is to preclude competition or establish the terms of competition unless the Postal Service demonstrates that the regulation does not create an unfair competitive advantage for itself or any entity funded (in whole or in part) by the Postal Service…” The USPS has its own “Picture Permit Indicia program” for producing (limited) custom postage. Ending the privately-run Customized Postage program certainly gives the appearance of creating an “unfair competitive advantage” for the agency.

If the USPS were to restart its customized stamp program, it should relax its heavy-handed restrictions on content. The USPS should not put up a fuss if people want to feature an imperiled Kyiv church on their stamps. And, there’s no reason why Borys Grokh’s iconic drawing shouldn’t be mailed around the country (as long as Grokh’s intellectual property rights are respected).

By restarting and relaxing the customized postage program, America’s mail carrier can do its part to help Americans show solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

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