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Rep. Issa Launches ‘Saving the Postal Service’ Website

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Photo: Alexander Marks

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has launched a website counting down the days until the U.S. Postal Service could default.

Saving the Postal Service” details proposed legislation from Issa and Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) they say will help save the Postal Service from a default.

The Issa-Ross Postal Reform Act would allow the Postal Service, among other things, to end Saturday delivery and require postal employees to pay the same amount of health and life insurance premiums as other federal employees.

The proposal also allows the Postal Service to sell advertising space on vehicles and would establish an independent authority to cut costs every 30 days if the Postal Service cannot pay its bills.

“Only serious cost-cutting structural reforms that reduce workforce costs and rightsize infrastructure can save the Postal Service and prevent a multi-billion taxpayer funded bailout,” Issa said Aug. 5 in a statement.

10 Comments

  1. One thing and one thing only needs to be done to save the USPS , and that is to eliminate excess personal in the EAS ranks. Postal management refuses to cut their own ranks. Billions of dollars are wasted in unnecessary and phony jobs. Some of which were actually created for people. For those of you who think I am exaggerating the amount ( billions). I am not.

  2. The only thing I can think of is term limits these idiots in both party only think of them selfs and special intrest groups and lining there pockets with money. Rep. Issa why don’t you give up all your nice bennefits and perks you get. After all you were elected to serve and that last time I did service I got paid nothing.

  3. In my opinion; It matters NOT how much money the Postal Service EVER saves. They are experts in MISMANAGEMENT. The Postal Service from the Postmaster and all the upper echelons in management are expert thieves. Whatever is saved, whatever HAS been saved, they know how to manipulate and siphon hard earned Carrier and Clerk generated revenue into their thirsty pockets. The ONLY thing that could ever save the postal service is an outside accounting agency to keep constant tabs on how the revenue is managed, by the wolves in management. ANYTHING else, is a worthless solution. As I remember an old movie where a son was taking over his fathers business, the son was going over the books and remarked on how money could of been saved by the father only if he had streamlined and had paid more attention on how he had spent some of the revenue. His father looked at him with a stern look and answered with “…Son if you want to stay in business you have to understand one thing… inefficiency PAYS!”

  4. One of the bigest expence’s is gas for the delivery of mail. Kill the FREE in RFD and charge people $10.00 a month to deliver the mail to their rural mail box…….Than would bring in million’s.

  5. i really feel bad for the postal workers you come in contact with every day, the letter carriers, package delivery people and especially the personel you meet at your local post offce. almost without exception they are dedicated , hard working people who go above and beyond to service all of us. it cant be them that is the problem. how often do you actually see them just standing around doing nothing. very rarely if it all. if all departments in our government on the federal and state level got as much work every day as the post office gets out of their union people we would probably have a surplus instead of being so deeply in debt.

  6. I fully support Rep. Issa’s proposal to reform the USPS and submit the following suggestions:

    Time to trim the fat and renegotiate the pay structure and benefits to more align with today’s realities. Automatic pay raises based on years with the service need to change to merit based pay. Health care and pensions need also to be revisited and amended. Union rigid job categories need to be redefined; for example letter carriers can not help out at a window because the window employees are in a different union– absurd. If a corporation is struggling, every employee should be allowed to pitch in when needed. Additionally, there needs to be a re-evaluation of the number of employees and a reduction in force should begin through attrition (a hiring freeze). I notice my mail arrives usually at 2-3:00 P.M.; however, in inclimate weather [rain, snow & extreme heat] it is in my box before noon, showing me that mail can be delivered more efficiently when necessary. Additionally, although it is an inconvenience, replacing door-to-door delivery in both rural and urban areas, with convenient community mail boxes would expedite delivery and allow for a reduction in both force and time on a route, eliminating staff and reducing overtime. Finally, a marginal increase in bulk and junk mail rates, including not for profit, rates should help reduce the deficit.

    I only disagree the Rep. Issa on the topic of Sat. delivery. I would request that Sat. delivery be continued for first class mail only (restrict the stuffers and junk mail to weekday delivery). This would allow bills and other important mail to be delivered. The elimination of junk on Sat. would reduce sorting and delivery time and as such might allow for a reduced staff, thus still reducing costs while maintaining the USPS as a world class system. Why should the consumer suffer when the problems stem from a bloated, overpaid organization with over rich benefits and an unmaintainable legacy cost burden.

    Respectively Submitted;

    R.P. Hamberg D.D.S., J.D.

  7. Although email has replaced many needs for first class letters, the distribution of important documents must be preserved. Many persons do not understand that the mail service has much better privacy than the internet; it cannot be “hacked” or siphoned away except by an actual mail robbery. Internet theft is much more profitable and less danagerous for cyber criminals. Paying bills by mail actually conserves income because it is not electronically debited like payments throught internet accounts. The advantage of the US Postal System compared to UPS or FedEx is that it is not based on distance. Because it delivers to all parts of the United States on an equal basis, it deserves some Federal subsidy.

    However, the biggest problem with USPS is the delivery of advertising and soliticitation (“junk”) mail. These bulk mailers receive substantial discounts, and their rates are significantly less than ordinary users of first class. The proportion of mail that I receive is 90% junk, of which I subsidize through first class. These rates need to be substantially increased. It is doubtful that the postal competitors would take this on because it is unprofitable.

    The closure of small town post offices makes sense. Having an unmanned postal “kiosk” or use of small business in that town to supply simple postal needs makes some sense. In that way, postal items can be deposited, and a few carriers can pick up and transfer letters or small packages scattered over a large area. These “kiosks” could have a substantial number of lock boxes to eliminate door-to-door delivery. Construction of these unmanned postal stores could provide some construction jobs for those rural communities. There still would be post offices for towns with larger populations where citizens within driving distance could receive full services.

    This problem is not as difficult as it seems to solve if the right legislators are put together to pool good ideas and implement them into law.

  8. I am an ex postal employee who went back to school. The post office should continue but it truly needs a business expert or experts to go in and evaluate it as a REAL business. I currently work with postal employees in my practice(and from my own experience working for USPS) and see how sadistic those in charge can be-destroying morale and adding to inefficiencies. I suggest to Darrell Issa that he speak with current lower level employees, and postmasters, and get morre information and suggestions from within. There is soooo much wrong, yet the frontline employees are typically good, hardworking individuals who over time become frustrated and often depressed by having to work under really dumb regulations and demands made on them. The USPS is top heavy with management who are in general, self-serving, and self-sustaining, and certainly not particularly educated or intelligent when it comes to exhibiting sound business practices. They really need help but it would be worth saving in my opinion.
    One other idea to make the PO self-sustaining-why don’t they adopt some of the model of Mailboxes etc. or Kinkos, or any other real mail,package delivery business that has to make money to continue. They (the P.O.) are the experts and it makes more sense to provide the same services such as Kinko’s does, for a lower price right at the Post Office! Anyone else see a benefit to this idea?

  9. We need a businessman in charge. There are tooo many managers walking around. Trim the fat put all the boxes at the curb you will save billions. You don’t need to cut service. Mr Issa you should tour a large mail facility and see just how many managers are walking around making 100 g’s a year and doing not a darn thing. I Make 55 grand a year and earn every darn penny. Postmasters are just a figure heads now they are not allowed to make a decision anymore get rid of them. Have area managers.

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