(Washington, D.C.) – Thomas Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), today blasted the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for its chronic ineptitude and mismanagement.  Schatz’s remarks came as U.S. Postmaster William Henderson, along with representatives of the USPS Office of Inspector General and the U.S. General Accounting Office, testified before the Postal Service Subcommittee of the House Committee on Government Reform.

“Though it claims to function like a private business, USPS is, in fact, just another government bureaucracy.  Its spendthrift habits, anti-competitive practices, and legal monopoly over national letter delivery wouldn’t last an hour in the business world without its billions in government benefits.  Worse, now USPS is intruding further into the private market by expanding into privately-served areas, such as e-commerce.”

Recent examples of USPS mismamagement:

• Projected a $300 million loss for fiscal year (FY) 2000, yet is underwriting the Olympic Games and running flashy TV advertisements.

• Spent $248,000 to relocate two senior USPS executives a total of 40 miles, even though both continued to report to work at the agency's L'Enfant Plaza headquarters in Washington, D.C.

• According to a 2000 Wirthlin Worldwide study, 94 percent of USPS package shipments coming into the U.S. are not properly inspected and assessed by Customs, an oversight which costs taxpayers at least $1.2 billion in uncollected duties each year. 
• Aggressively expanded into new areas of business, including e-commerce, phone cards, and Global Package Link, injuring private competitors.  USPS has lost at least $84.7 million in dead-end commercial ventures.
• Bungled a private-public contract with Emery Worldwide Airlines which could eventually cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. 

“In view of USPS’ egregious mismanagement of the Emery Worldwide partnership, as well as the billions it loses annually to waste, fraud, mismanagement, and bloat, Congress should think twice about letting USPS enter into another similar partnership with Fed Ex,” added Schatz.  “The USPS should not have carte blanche to make forays into new, highly competitive markets, like e-comerce, when it is struggling to perform its core duty, delivering the mail.  The USPS is leveraging its quasi-government status to grow in areas already covered by private companies,” Schatz said.  “It is ‘mission creep’ of the worst kind and Congress should reign in USPS now.”

CAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.