The Alaska congressional delegation has big a problem with California U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa's attempt to reform the U.S. Postal Service, POLITICO reports Wednesday morning.
The latest version of Rep. Issa's reform bill includes the recommendation that the USPS stop subsidising Alaska's "bypass mail" system. The system allows residents of remote Alaska communities to pay normal postal rates when accepting mail shipped inside Alaska, but it costs USPS some $70 million per year.
Rep. Issa and Rep. Dennis Ross of Florida are pressing for Alaska to repay the Postal Service for its bypass mail program. Issa blames the late Sen. Ted Stevens for the current state of affairs, but says he's not trying to end the program, just make it more cost-effective.
"If you ask the American people, would they subsidize Alaskan folks getting stuff delivered by float plane to every location, the people of America would say that's not our job to subsidize," Issa told POLITICO. "Do I have a feeling that, yes, I want to make sure we're not supporting cronyism in Alaska."
Issa also says he's not calling for an end to federal participation in order to retaliate for Alaska's Rep. Don Young's role in a letter circulated in September arguing against Issa's proposed cuts to the Postal Service.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski is calling for hearings and putting pressure on colleagues, sending a letter to a Senate committee which defends the bypass mail program and reads in part,"Congress should not treat the citizens of one state differently from those in another state."
Rep. Young, uncharacteristically, refused to comment just yet.
Read much, much more, here.
And if you're interested in a seldom-heard reason for the financial crisis facing the USPS, read this recent analysis by Truthout. It discusses the current crisis in light of an unusual mandate enacted by Congress in 2006. The measure requires the USPS, alone among all federal bodies, to pre-fund retiree health benefits for the next 75 years by the end of a 10-year window. The cost? $5.5 billion per year since 2007.