House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., (right) and Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.
Web News Article #: 113-14
June 5, 2014 – In a “Dear Colleagues” letter dated June 3, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) urged his fellow members of the House of Representatives to oppose a proposal to use Postal Service funds to help replenish the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) by ending Saturday mail delivery.
The letter, sent to all 435 members of the House, says the USPS cannot cut its services to survive, but must find, “creative ways to further leverage its national delivery network to support American Business and continue binding our Nation together.”
“Simply put, eliminating Saturday mail delivery would be bad for business, harm consumers, and not surprisingly, lacks the necessary majority to pass the House under regular order.”
Rep. Connolly points out there is broad support for preserving six-day mail delivery, both in Congress and in the private and public sectors. He notes that organizations as diverse as the AFL-CIO and the right-wing Heritage Action for America strongly oppose raiding the Postal Service as part of a budget gimmick to fund the Highway Trust Fund.
“These organizations recognize that USPS is not a Piggy Bank,” and that off-budget USPS funds simply cannot be used to fund on-budget projects, he wrote.