I’ll keep you posted on #postal, but seeing #USPS leadership fold like a cheap suit last week is troubling: SavingThePostalService.com

— Darrell Issa (@DarrellIssa) December 19, 2011

For more, see Alan Robinson’s article “The Political Impact of Tweets from Representatives Issa and Ross“

RepDennisRossDennis Ross

Back to #SOPA debate today. Lots of good amendments on the table. Hysterics & hyperbole will also be on tap. Watch at judiciary.house.gov

Dec 16FavoriteRetweetReply

CEP_ObserverAlan Robinson

@RepDennisRoss Isn’t the Brac like commission redundant now? I always thought it was too slow to shrink the network if that was objective.

Dec 16FavoriteRetweetReply

in reply to @CEP_Observer↑

@RepDennisRoss
Dennis Ross@CEP_Observer won’t be modifying. PMG is trying to delay an deflect. First Brac management change may have to start at the top
Dec 16 via Twitter for iPhone
FavoriteRetweetReply

The “BRAC” referred to in the tweets is one of the new regulatory bureaucracies envisioned in the postal “reform” legislation proposed by Ross and his boss, Darrell Issa. In addition to adding a second regulatory commission to oversee the USPS, Ross and Issa want a commission similar to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission to decide which postal facilities should close and which should remain open. Robinson’s tweet suggested that a BRAC was unnecessary, given that the USPS is already moving ahead with plans to streamline its network (much to the consternation of many of Ross’s colleagues, it should be noted).

But Ross was having none of it- without actually responding to the question, he said that he “won’t be modifying”. And then, somewhat gratuitously, he suggests that a BRAC might have to start “at the top”, meaning, presumably, the PMG. Ross and Issa are apparently not pleased that the PMG actually consulted with other members of Congress, and agreed to a moratorium on closings until May. In reality, the moratorium has little practical effect- the USPS is continuing all of the processes it must go through in order to close the facilities, and few would actually have been shuttered by May. What matters more to Ross and Issa is the fact that the moratorium, along with the likely extension to the pre-funding deadline, takes away the doomsday scenario (remember the ticking “countdown to default” clock on Darrell’s web site?) they hoped would help get their bill pushed through Congress.

See also: Ross Says Firing PMG May Have To Be First Step on Alan Robinson’s Courier Express and Postal blog.

The House of Representatives voted 243-193 on Dec. 13 to pass the so-called “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011,” which would cut take-home pay for postal and federal workers by increasing their contributions to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). The bill also would slash unemployment benefits, place unreasonable burdens on unemployed workers, and cut vital healthcare programs.

Voting in favor of H.R. 3630 were 224 Republicans and 10 Democrats. Fourteen Republicans and 179 Democrats voted no. Action on the bill now moves to the Senate.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), and co-sponsored by Reps. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Frank Lucas (R-OK), Dan Lungren (R-CA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and Fred Upton (R-MI).

The bill also would change the calculation of pensions for new hires with less than five years of creditable service and eliminate the FERS annuity supplement, which is designed to provide a benefit approximating the pension retirees would receive once they become eligible for earned Social Security benefits.

If enacted into law, employee contributions to CSRS would increase from the current rate of 7 percent to 8.5 percent of salary over a three-year span beginning in calendar year 2013. Contributions for employees covered by FERS would increase from 0.8 percent to 2.3 percent over the same period.

The bill would increase the contribution rate for postal and federal employees hired after Dec. 31, 2012, with less than five years of creditable service, from the current rate of 0.8 percent to 4 percent of salary. The pension formula for these employees would be based on the employees’ “high-five” years of service instead of the current “high-three” formula. Pensions for current employees’ would continue to be based on the “high-three.”

President Obama issued a statement before the House vote threatening to veto the bill if it reaches his desk.

APWU members are encouraged to immediately contact their senators and urge them to oppose this unfair and misguided attack on postal and federal workers when the bill is considered in the Senate.

via House Republicans Attack Postal and Federal Retirement Benefits.

Unfortunately for postal workers and their customers, however, the accounting gimmicks enacted into law by Congress and the Bush Administration in 2006 require that the USPS hand that profit over to the Treasury. Not only that, but the USPS is required to borrow another $350 million from the Treasury, so that money can also be handed back to the Treasury for the so-called “trust fund” for potential future retiree health benefits.

The end result of all of this politically inspired money shuffling is that the postal service is forced to book a net loss of $139 million. From the politician’s point of view, it’s a win-win situation- each month, the gimmickry shifts another half billion dollars of the national debt “off budget”, to the USPS; and it matches the story people like Darrell Issa and Dennis Ross like to tell about bloated bureaucracies and overpaid workers.

We just can’t have a unionized government run operation making a profit, can we?

USPS Preliminary Financial Information (Unaudited).

Ed Schultz talked to USPS letter carrier and Rep. Joe Walsh constituent Melissa Rakestraw about her encounter with Walsh at a recent meeting he had where he basically melted down and started screaming at Rakestraw and some of the others who were unfortunate enough to be attending that event.

via Ed Schultz Talks to USPS Letter Carrier Who Was Screamed at By Rep. Joe Walsh | Video Cafe.

RepDennisRossDennis Ross

@TnRuralCarrier they are. and no, USPS has not. This year and last, even w/prefunding, right.http://www.gao.gov/new.item…

Nov 07FavoriteRetweetReply

TnRuralCarrierTn Rural Carrier

@RepDennisRoss And, according to Congressional Research Service, losses began in 2007, right after PAEA went into effect.

Nov 07FavoriteRetweetReply

in reply to @TnRuralCarrier↑

@RepDennisRoss
Dennis Ross@TnRuralCarrier sure, but losses now exceed prefunding and will continue to. w/or w/o prefunding USPS is bankrupt! That is a fact.
Nov 07 via webFavorit
eRetweetReply

Hmmm… so according to Dennis, “losses now exceed prefunding”?

Oh really?

At the end of Fiscal Year 2010, the total in the “prefunding” trust fund was $42.5 billion. At the same time, the total “net deficiency” for the USPS since it was created was $13.9 billion. The “net deficiency” includes all operating profits and losses, including the prefunding.

All of which, to those of us who use mathematics to calculate these things, means that the USPS, without the prefunding requirement, would have a cash balance of $28.6 billion. But the idea that a government run enterprise could be running a profit is anathema to true believers like Dennis.

And true believers like Dennis aren’t about to let the facts get in their way.

Oh- and how did Dennis respond on Twitter to the person who dared to question his denial of the facts?

He blocked him.

Update: Congressman Ross has responded to our post- not with facts, but with hashtags:

postalnewspostalnews

@RepDennisRoss invents new math to explain why USPS is “bankrupt” http://t.co/aLWA65Ef#USPS#lyingpoliticians via http://t.co/VflvXPQ6

Nov 08FavoriteRetweetReply

in reply to @postalnews↑

@RepDennisRoss
Dennis Ross@postalnews GAO reports are pretty clear. #propaganda#headinthesand#stubbornfacts#brokenbusinessmodel
Nov 08 via SeesmicFavoriteRetweetReply

Our Dennis might want to fact check these things before he tweets them- as most fourth graders know, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is probably the best known and most quoted phrase in the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution! For the record Dennis, the word “Liberty” appears once in the Constitution- “promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty”. (Fun fact- in the Constitution, “Liberty” comes after “Welfare”- tell that to a tea-bagger and watch his head explode!) “Happiness”, sadly, doesn’t appear in the document at all, and the word “life” only pops up in this delightfully biblical clause: “no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.” Whatever that means.

I do have to admit that I like Dennis’s supposed constitutional right to happiness, though! If that right really did appear in the Constitution, it would pretty much guarantee that Dennis ‘n’ Daryll’s postal “reform” bill would be declared unconstitutional, given how many people are deeply unhappy about it!

Sadly, no one appears to have bothered to request access to “Rene”‘s protected tweets- not even his heroes, Darrell ‘n’ Dennis, who are now the only accounts “Rene” follows.

In other twitter news, Congressman Ross ended the conversation he started with me about the PAEA trust fund after I pointed out that he was lying. Some people are so sensitive! Oh well- at least we have our memories (and screen captures!):

Rene Gray ClerkRene on Twitter.

postalnewspostalnews

@repdennisross gets it wrong again http://t.co/7ZQEp7Z1#USPS#lyingpoliticians

Oct 22FavoriteRetweetReply

in reply to @postalnews↑

@RepDennisRoss
Dennis Ross @postalnews still yet to admit GAO was right – because they were. Your current argument = USPS would make money if it didnt follow the law.
Oct 22 via webFavoriteRetweetReply

Dennis may be reading the Twitter on his Blackberry, but he doesn’t seem to be very good at comprehending what he reads. Most literate readers of this blog would have noticed my earlier posting, where I pointed out that way back in March I suggested that there was a pretty good argument for the proposition that the USPS was not owed any money for the alleged CSRS overcharges. Dennis- try following the links- they’re there for a reason.

Dennis’s suggestion that my “current argument = USPS would make money if it didnt follow the law”, is, of course, nonsense. My “current argument”, which also happens to be the same argument I have been making for more years than Dennis has been a Congressman, is that the USPS has been profitable since 2006 before the $5.5 billion trust fund charge Dennis’s colleagues slapped on the USPS in 2006.

That, Dennis, is a fact- not an “argument”.

What’s amusing about Dennis’s argument is the way he regards PAEA as something akin to sacred scripture. It’s The Law. USPS only makes profits if it ignores The Law. Funny how Dennis and his tea baggin’ buddies don’t seem to have the same reverence for other laws, like, say, health care reform, or environmental protection, or worker safety.

Situation ethics much, Dennis?

Twitter / @RepDennisRoss: @postalnews still yet to a ….

Taxpayer Bailout for the Post Office? – Fox News Video – Fox News.