WASHINGTON– Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa in a letter to the American Postal Worker Union (APWU) asks the union to cancel a misleading ad campaign that falsely claims the United States Postal Service (USPS) does not receive taxpayer support when it does, in fact, receive hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money through preferential tax treatment and other benefits.
“A December 2007 report from the Federal Trade Commission includes a long list of implicit subsidies the Postal Service receives that are not available to private companies,” said Issa in the letter to APWU President Cliff Guffey. The letter notes that “the Postal Service is exempt from, among other items, federal, state, and local income tax, all state and local taxes (including property tax), and vehicle registration and titling fees.”
The letter also notes that USPS has access to borrowing directly from the United States Treasury at very low rates. As of the end of Fiscal Year 2010, the Postal Service had $4.1 billion in debt with an interest rate below 0.3% as well as an additional short-term revolving credit line of $3.4 billion at an interest rate of 0.206%.
Noting that these subsidies are worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually, Issa asked the union not to mislead the American people.
“While you and I have significant differences of opinion on how the Postal Service should be reformed, I believe we must be clear about the underlying facts. I ask you not to engage in a campaign to mislead the American people.”
Issa, the author of the only legislation introduced this Congress which would return the Postal Service to solvency, has also called on the Postal Service and their allies to recognize that the decline in revenue is permanent, driven by the transition to electronic, paperless technology and not temporarily by the recession. Issa debunked these myths and others in a “Myth vs. Fact” paper published last week.
Click here for a copy of Issa’s letter to APWU.
USPS: “The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.”
Issa should have plastic surgery to sew up that ugly red gash under his nose!
If you think you can do a better job, run for office.
Mr. Issa, maybe Congress should start sending all the constitutents mail thru Fed Ex and UPS. I’m sure that they would be happy to deliver for you for free, like USPS does now. I find it interesting that a man who comes from a state that is going bankrupt and is part of a Congress who won’t balance a budget, is so freely giving advice on how to run USPS. There is no disagreement that USPS needs some major changes, but please get your facts straight and listen to some workers in the middle of the situation before you go spouting your rhetoric for the media.
Just pitting blue collar workers against one another.
Issa is one crooked corporate whore.
Here’s another brainy idea. Why don’t we take Walker and Issa and put them in charge of the whole country. Hmm makes me wonder how soon before we start looking like germany did some time ago. I was a conservative before these two idiots decided to start their attacks on public employees and their pathetic cuts to the middle class and pal paybacks to their rich buddies. Hey let’s not pay any attention to the big polluter Koch boys. How’s The lake by their business doing anyway. High levels of all kinds of crap from their facilities. Let’s turn a blind eye and punish the landowners instead. Great idea moron. Out again Warpig
All I’ve got to say is, has this idiot ever thought for a second before he opens his pathetic excuse of a noisemaker mouth. Anyone with a half a brain knows the USPS is there as a service. When 70% of the P.O.s are not making money and mail must be delivered even if it’s 10 miles to the address(unlike our competitors who use us for the last mile) how the hell can the USPS make money? Add the moronic pre-funding gravedigger rule and no shit you will lose money. And by the way, How much did you clowns in the Senate and the House make last year and the year before? What was that, Da Ahh welll let’s see I thunk we may have umm err lost trillions. Here’s an idear let’s try to wipe out a business that supplies thousands of jobs and buys thousands of products and whose employees pay their taxes and buy all kinds of stuff. Let’s shut them down or slash their wages or maybe put them all on Gov’t help programs. Oh yeah they pay for a big chunk of that too. Well if everyone made $9 hour would that make you happy d–bsh-t!! Later The Warpig
I totally agree with all of the other comments depicting how hypocritical ISSA is, and what a don’t five a damn atrtitude he has about working americans citizens who are daily trying to make it off of less than a fourth of what he brings in annually on his salary!! When he is making over 200, 000 dollars a year wirh all the perks he get for sitting up on his throne dalily putting Postal workers and otrhers beneath him down. He will pay dearly one day for all the detriment he is doing and trying to do to others, from a higher being!! Who in God’s name appointed him over any committee? They surely did not want the Postal Service to survive! People like him in Congress, won’t be happy until the average american is living on the street and this country is just like a third world country. The ______ nerve of him!!
Whine, whine, whine. Cry, cry, cry little babies. When you get invited on the News Channels then maybe someone will pay you some attention.
DARRELL ISSA wienerschnitzel
keep sucking
UH UM The Postal Service is NOT Constitutionally mandated! The Constitution merely authorizes the Congress to set up a mail service. It does NOT say that Congress must set on up!!
We receive “subsidies” not available to “private companies”?? Issa, we are NOT a “private company”……..we are part of the Federal Government, period. If it makes you dysfunctional Congressional members happy, give the same to the private companies…….you pretty much do what you want anyway….AND if we should not receive these “tax-breaks”, “luxuries”…..then neither should “religions”. Have you seen some of the HUGE temples, churches, mosques?? Just saying….Congress also gives huge “incentives” to foreign “private enterprises” to just locate here in the U.S…..I am sure the list is longer than I can count without a calculator!
When will someone tell him we are a pubic service. The reason we get some of these “so call benefits” is we deliver to everyone for a set price,and we don’t need to make a profit just break even. If wants us to raise prices please let us do so.
This guy (Issa) is a joke. He brings new meaning to pulling at straws. He argues because the Postal Service does not pay Federal and State taxes, registration fees and parking tickets that amounts to tax subsidies. What other Constitutional mandated Federal agency pays these fees. Mr. Burn my business down Issa since you are chair of the oversight committee why don’t you tell us what other government agency pays those fees. Show America how much each state house, governors mansion, police and fire station pay in taxes, registration fees and parking tickets. Better yet show us how much Congress pays in federal and state property tax, registration fees and let’s not forget the parking tickets for OH the building housing your office or your official government vehicle. Then tell us where Congress gets the money to pay you $176,000 annually for being in session less than 5-6 months out of the year, vested retirement after one term, free health care, unlimited paid sick leave and every other benefit you villify working class Americans audacity to bargain for. You accuse the APWU of lying about receiving tax payer money to operate the Postal Service when the facts speak for themselves. The ad is TRUE and your desperate weasel refutations are as lame and pathetic as the excuse you offered when 3 of your businesses mysteriously went up in flames. THE USPS DOES NOT RECEIVE TAX PAYER MONEY!!! THAT’S A FACT!!!
What other HORSE SHIT will DARRELL ISSA come up with?
The man is a complete ASS HOLE….and a car thief and an arsonist.
He comes up with a TREATISE on why he thinks that the USPS needs to be
PRIVATIZED as all of his WELL HEELED CONSERVATIVE BILLIONAIRE FRIENDS
are in favor of….by inferring that the USPS enjoys advantages that FedEx and UPS
don’t have….
What’s next ass hole???
PREFUNDING FOR ALL OF THE “ADVANTAGES” THAT THE USPS ENJOYS???
issa where is all the money we overpaid to the fed government for emploeyees pre paid funding what other agency in the WORLD has this type of prepayment obligation?? NONE
From a man who bets against a country that he goverons
The American taxpayer NEVER subsidied so much as one bite of my
Beef Wellington !
P.S.
Glad I took the money and ran. NO COLA FOR YOU !
Later, SUCKAS !