Leslie Paige Available for Post-Hearing Interviews

(Washington, D.C.) - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today urged House members to vigorously question Postmaster General John Potter at a Capitol Hill hearing tomorrow on the financial state of the U.S. Postal  Service (USPS).  Potter is expected to address the USPS's plans to improve mail security, but the hearing presents an opportunity for House members to get answers to many questions regarding postal mismanagement.

Who (witness): John Potter, Postmaster General

What: Hearing of the Treasury, Postal and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee

When: Wednesday, March 13th - 2:00 p.m.

Where: 2359 Rayburn

Why:  Postmaster General Potter will testify before Congress Wednesday on Postal Service operations, particularly concerning unprecedented requests for direct taxpayer appropriations to combat bioterrorist threats.

Potter is expected to testify regarding the expenditure plan for the $500 million-already appropriated for fiscal 2002.  The Postal Service has indicated it will need over $4 billion in addition to the $500 million over the next four years for its "emergency preparedness plan."  While CAGW appreciates the need for safe mail, we remind Congress that USPS was hemorrhaging cash before Sept. 11 and has yet to address the $1.6 billion lost in waste, fraud, and mismanagement as identified by its own Office of Inspector General.  All new funding requests must be considered in this light.

CAGW also hopes Potter will be questioned regarding questionable practices, including $800 million in bonuses paid to postal supervisors in late 2001, a period of negative revenues; a recent audit of bonuses paid to postal inspectors; and a program that subsidizes postal executives' mortgages in high-cost areas.

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.