Bowling Green Today

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, addressed the failures of the United States Postal Service (USPS) during a hearing titled “Oversight of the United States Postal Service.” Dr. Paul emphasized the necessity for significant structural labor changes within the Postal Service before further taxpayer dollars are allocated.

Quoting Thomas Jefferson, Dr. Paul highlighted the disconnect between public spending and personal financial prudence, stating, "I do not know on what principles of reasoning it is that good men think the public ought to pay more for a thing than they would themselves if they wanted it."

Referring to the previous Congressional bailout of $107 billion in the Postal Service Reform Act, Dr. Paul expressed disappointment in the Postal Service's failure to meet the promised operational improvements, stating, "In 2020, Congress was led to believe that the $107 billion bailout in the Postal Service Reform Act provided would pull the Postal Service out of the hole it was in within 3 or 4 years."

Dr. Paul criticized the continuous injection of funds into the USPS without addressing underlying labor issues, likening it to burning money, "I argued that giving more money to the Postal Service was equivalent to burning money."

Furthermore, Dr. Paul raised concerns about the Postal Service's inefficient spending, particularly in areas like electric delivery vehicles and facility conversions, which have not yielded desired results, stating, "The Service is spending $9.6 billion in electric delivery vehicles and spending nearly $40 billion over 10 years to convert and build certain facilities into hubs that so far do not work."

Highlighting the dire fiscal situation of the nation, Dr. Paul stressed the recklessness of providing further funding to the USPS amidst a national debt of nearly $35 trillion, urging Congress to reconsider allocating additional taxpayer dollars to the Postal Service.

In conclusion, Dr. Paul called for massive structural reform within the Postal Service, specifically focusing on labor practices, to ensure financial stability and operational efficiency.