House, Senate leaders urged to make postal reform a priority

He said leaders in the House and Senate are "unenthusiastic" about moving a bill. "They're saying, 'Yeah, if the committee reports out a bill, we'll try to take it up,'" Davis told a meeting of the National Association of Postal Supervisors.

That attitude is at odds with "the strong support, by both Republicans and Democrats, in both the House and the Senate [government operations committees] to pass reform this year," Davis said.

Davis said he is working with Government Reform ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., to write a House bill, and he praised similar bipartisan cooperation in the Senate between Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and panel member Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del.

Davis said the White House also is fully committed to postal overhaul this year. He suggested the congressional leadership's lack of interest stems from "heavy lobbying efforts" by groups that oppose full-scale changes, such as private-sector competitors of the Postal Service.