The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service is raising rates for its more profitable express mail and priority mail shipping next year, part of its efforts to stave off bankruptcy.

The new prices, which take effect Jan. 22, include the introduction of a new flat rate of $39.95 for overnight express mail boxes weighing up to 70 pounds that are sent domestically; the flat rate for express letters is being increased separately to $18.95. Previously, prices for the overnight service were $13.25 or higher based on package weight and distance.

The prices for priority mail, which promises two-to-three-day delivery, also will increase by an average of 3.1 percent.

The post office said the rate hikes were partly aimed at keeping the ailing agency afloat while maintaining its pricing advantage in the shipping business. Private companies such as UPS and FedEx, which offer similar express shipping services , regularly adjust their prices and have posted modest profits in the sluggish economy.

In the past year, the post office lost $5.1 billion, mostly due to a 5.8 percent decline in revenue for first-class mail. Priority mail and express mail posted a 6.3 percent increase.

Still, the rate increase will make only a small dent in the Postal Service ’s losses, caused by the recession, movement of mail to the Internet and a requirement that the agency fund future retiree medical benefits years in advance.

Among the increases set for Jan. 22:

—Priority mail, small box, $5.35.

—Priority mail, medium box, $11.35.

—Priority mail, large box, $15.45.

—Priority mail, regular envelope, $5.15.

—Priority mail, legal-size and padded envelope, $5.30.

The new prices amount to an across-the-board increase of roughly 5 percent in postal shipping services. They are in addition to a previously announced 1-cent increase in first-class mail to 45 cents, also planned for Jan. 22. The independent Postal Regulatory Commission will review the proposed increases before they take effect.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe has warned that the post office could face bankruptcy next September unless Congress acts quickly to give the agency greater flexibility to close underperforming offices, reduce delivery to five days a week, raise stamp prices and reduce health care and other labor costs. The Postal Service, an independent agency of government, does not receive tax money for its operations.

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The U.S. Postal Service welcomed Gregory Peck to its celebrated Legends of Hollywood stamp series today with the issuance of a new Forever stamp honoring the Academy Award-winning actor.

Elected the greatest screen hero of all time by the American Film Institute (AFI), Peck joins Marilyn Monroe , Humphrey Bogart , Cary Grant , Audrey Hepburn , Bette Davis , Katharine Hepburn and other cinematic greats, as the 17th inductee in the series.

The first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony took place at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, CA , and the Forever Stamp goes on sale nationwide and online at usps.com/shop . Forever Stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail price. The stamp, designed by Phil Jordan , captures the pensive and stalwart lawyer Atticus Finch who Peck played in the Oscar-winning movie, To Kill a Mockingbird . The stamp portrait is a still photograph from the film.

He appeared in more than 60 films during a remarkable career that stretched from the Golden Age of Hollywood to the emergence of independent filmmaking. Nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Actor, he won the Oscar for his performance as defense attorney Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird , a character that Peck said was closest to his own heart.

Peck was president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1967 to 1970 and also served as a longtime Academy governor. He was an inaugural member of the National Council on the Arts and the founding chairman of the AFI.

In 1969, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded Peck the Presidential Medal of Freedom as "an artist who had brought new dignity to the actor’s profession," and in 1970, Peck received the Screen Actors Guild award for "outstanding achievement in fostering the ideals of the acting profession." In 1989, he received the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, followed by the Kennedy Center Honors in 1991 and the National Medal of Arts in 1998.

Peck will be remembered by many fans as one of the movie industry’s most distinguished and respected actors and one of America’s most benevolent activists. He died in 2003 at the age of 87.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at local Post Offices, at The Postal Store website at www.usps.com/shop , or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:

Gregory Peck Stamp
Los Angeles Marketing Department
7001 S. Central Ave., #307
Los Angeles, CA 90052-9998

After applying first-day-of-issue postmarks, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by June 28, 2011 .

How to Order First-Day Covers

The U.S. Postal Service also offers first-day covers and other collectible products for new stamp issues and postal stationery items. Each product has an individual item number and is offered for sale from the online postal store at www.usps.com/shop or through the quarterly USA Philatelic Catalog . Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

Information Fulfillment
Dept. 6270
U.S. Postal Service
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Products

There are six philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

• 466461, First-Day Cover, $0.88 .
• 466462, First-Day Cancellation Full Sheet, $11.30 .
• 466465, Digital Color Postmark First Day Cover, $1.60 .
• 466484, Uncut Press Sheet, $35.20 .
• 466491, Ceremony Program, $6.95 .
• 466499, Keepsake: Mint Stamp Pane w/Digital Color Postmark First Day Cover, $10.95 .

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com , the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service

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The USPS recently announced the issuance of the Ronald Reagan forever stamp to celebrate the actor and late president’s 100 birthday. Depicted at the President’s Santa Barbara ranch, collectors have 60 days to order the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail.

The stamp art was produced by Bart Forbes of Texas. If you don’t care about the first-day-of-issue postmark, the new "forever stamp" can be found at the local post office.

Dedicated to Reagan’s boyhood home of Dixon, the stamp shows the 40th president with a grin while one hand is cupping his chin. On the left side is Ronald Reagan’s signature.

The last day to get first-day-of-issue postmarks is April 11. Interested participates may visit the website, call 800-STAMP-24 or send in a large envelope with a return address to:

Ronald Reagan Stamp
Postmaster
2551 N. Galena Ave.
Simi Valley, CA 93065-9998

The USPS confirmed these envelopes will be returned with the first-day-of-issue postmark.

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