House GOP moving forward with proposal to use USPS funds for Highway Trust Fund
House Republicans are constructing a proposal to keep thousands of roads and transit projects from grinding to a halt this summer by transferring funds into the nation’s nearly depleted Highway Trust Fund from the already money-losing U.S. Postal Service.
But in a memo to rank-and-file House GOP members dated Friday, Speaker John Boehner and his top two lieutenants cast the plan they are crafting as one that would also work to benefit the Postal Service—by granting its request to eliminate Saturday delivery service.
That, members are told, would allow the USPS “to better operate within its own revenue stream” while also providing $10.7 billion in offsets over 10 years that could be used for the trust fund.
At least one conservative group, Heritage Action for America, has already come out against the idea.
“The idea Congress would use a supposedly self-funding agency that cannot pay its bills as a piggy bank to fund another bankrupt, self-funding fund is absurd,” said Heritage spokesman Dan Holler.
But Friday’s memo from Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy says, “We firmly believe that this is the best way to ensure continued funding of highway projects in a fiscally responsible manner that implements a needed structural reform to a growing federal liability.”
“As you may be aware, as a result of lower than anticipated revenues into the Highway Trust Fund, the [fund] will require an additional transfer of funds prior to the August District Work Period,” the memo says in explaining the urgency of finding a solution. “Failing to provide additional funds would mean a disruption of ongoing construction projects—right in the midst of the construction season.”
via Postal Service Funds Would Go to Highways Under House GOP Proposal – NationalJournal.com.
That’s almost comical. The GOP has been preaching insolvency since they past their last postal destruction bill of 2006. How exactly does cutting service and stealing 10.7 billion from them help them?
Hello heritage foundation. Wake up. Congress has been doing this for decades!!!!
This may be the single most conclusive and definitive piece of evidence that the USPS financial crisis is MANUFACTURED!!!
The overwhelming majority of postal employees want weekends off. The unions know it…but are against it…why?
Looks like the Ratpublicans had Rodney Dangerfield dream up this crazy joke of crap! First it’s the idea of pre funding of health care, now this madness! Anything to turn America into a land of just the rich and the poor. Time to bring out the straight jacket, and the little pills.
Republicans at it again (and I am a registered Republican) 1st they do a shell game with prefunding healthcare to balance budget when they took postal department to postal service. Now they are trying another accounting shell game. But explain to me how the “off budget” usps can balance an “on budget” highway fund? This is really creative accounting. But Issa has done this creative accounting all his life.
How is Obie working out for you?
I must ask who keeps coming up with these ideas. Are they really thinking these things thru. You’re going to depend on a agency that’s trying to get back on its feet to support another one that’s running out of money? Who ever is advising the politicians is an idiot or has no common sense.
The sheer meanness of this plan couldn’t be more obvious. Washington is diseased. Yet, this November most incumbents will right back where they are because people are too chicken to vote out their own representatives and Senators. We complain, iss and moan, and keep sending the most corrupt and inept lawmakers ever right back to D.C. where they laugh their collective asses off at us for being so fucking stupid election after election after election. We deserve what we’re getting, no two ways about it. Incumbents are the worst thing this country needs but thanks to FOX, Limbaugh, and yes, the left media outlets who support the same tired aholes over and over nothing changes except for the worse. Attacking the USPS is absurd but Issa and Donohoe can’t wait to ruin it completely so they can take over. At least Donohoe thinks he’ll get a fat cozy job, but I got news for him. He’ll be the first one out the door because no private business in its right mind would ever want somebody as worthless as him in their ranks.
Sounds like taking from the poor middle class to me
So they want to take post office money to keep roads opens and new roads coming?!? Are you kidding me!?! Put that out to the media more like thief’s
Why don’t they let use the surplus of funds towards our required payment for retirement?
once again the postal service is the federal tit that supplies cash to falling federal programs. like social security . this cash cow is dry!
Just when you think that the GOP can’t stoop any lower, they do just that.
Any elected representative that votes for this is just a disgusting piece of #@#@!
We have enough $ for made up wars.
We have enough $ to bailout the crooks in Wall St.
We have enough $ to hand over to every tinpot dictator’s country throughout the world.
For starters.
Yet, we don’t have enough $ to take care of our own citizens. Of course, the rethuglicans are just using the road program as a cover to spend it somewhere else. Dems do the same thing.
Anyone postal worker who votes for any rethuglican, after seeing this, is a fool. Whatever happened to the usual route for such needs, of adding to the tax on gasoline ?
It is now out for all to see; they want to break the USPS, for their and their master’s needs and wants.