Skepticism reigns at House hearing on postal crisis

On April 15, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing entitled “Continuing to Deliver: An Examination of the Postal Service’s Current Financial Crisis and Its Future Viability.” The hearing was held to examine three recently issued reports, each addressing the problems facing the USPS as well as potential solutions.

The first report, produced by the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) , found that the Postal Service was overcharged $75 billion by the Office of Personnel Management for CSRS pension benefits for postal employees.

The second was the Postal Service’s report: “Ensuring a Viable Postal Service for America: An Action Plan for the Future.”

And the third was an April 12 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to Congress entitled “Strategies and Options to Facilitate Progress Toward Financial Viability.”

Five witnesses were called, three from the agencies that issued the reports and one each from the Postal Regulatory Commission and the Congressional Research Service, which reviewed the studies. Links to the full written testimony of witnesses at the hearing can be found below.

Subcommittee Chairman Stephen Lynch (D-MA), full committee Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA), subcommittee Ranking Member Jason Chaffettz, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and several other members raised many questions about the validity of the Postmaster General’s projection of a $238 billion shortfall over the next 10 years, the USPS’s claim that the elimination of Saturday delivery is essential to its future viability, and whether the GAO’s study has true value if the assumptions it used are now being called into question.

Rep. Issa cautioned the Postmaster General against assuming that he will have any support from Congress if he intends to take career jobs and turn them into part-time jobs. He went on to say that people need to take care of families and homes and that part-time work is only an option when people are seeking part-time work.

Rep. Connolly asked repeatedly for a specific breakdown on how the Postal Service assumes a $238 billion shortfall. He asked if that assumed that both Congress and USPS would take no steps over the next 10 years to ensure viability, and he ultimately concluded that the projected $238 billion loss was a “bogus” number.

The hearing ended with Chairman Lynch impressing upon the OPM the need to work with the OIG and the Postal Service to correct the overpayment to the CSRS pension fund after indicating that he was “very sympathetic” to the Postal Service and its need to reclaim the overpayment from OPM.

To watch the hearing in its entirety click here.

PANEL I:
Mr. John E. Potter, Postmaster General and CEO, United States Postal Service
Testimony

Mr. Phillip Herr, Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues, United States Government Accountability Office
Testimony

PANEL II:
The Honorable Ruth Goldway, Chairman, Postal Regulatory Commission
Testimony

Mr. David Williams, Inspector General, Office of Inspector General, United States Postal Service
Testimony

Mr. John O’Brien, Senior Advisor to the Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Testimony

Mr. Kevin Kosar, Analyst, Congressional Research Service
Testimony