Scandal: Postal Exec Caught Using USPS Budget to Unseat GOP Senator [Tim Hutchinson]

Washington, D.C.) -- The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today reacted with outrage to reports that a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) executive has been forced to resign amidst allegations that she attempted to manipulate postal service resources to punish a candidate for the U.S. Senate who had been critical of the mismanaged government mail system.

"There has long been much to criticize at the USPS, from financial losses and taxpayer subsidies to regular price increases amidst poor service and low productivity," CCAGW Vice President Leslie Paige said. "But this is a new level of corruption and mismanagement. Taxpayers and their representatives in Congress should be up in arms."

USPS Senior Vice President Deborah Willhite resigned abruptly Friday amid allegations she used the federal mail budget to hurt the re-election chances of Arkansas Republican Sen. Tim Hutchinson. According to U.S. News and World Report, Willhite, the postal service's top lobbyist, pushed to have the budget of Arkansas post offices cut--and Hutchinson blamed. The dollars were to be transferred to Georgia's post offices, allowing supporters there to credit Democratic Sen. Max Cleland. The outcome of the Arkansas and Georgia races could tip the balance of power in the Senate.

"Since this spring, CCAGW has been calling for a complete and public audit of USPS books to root out the millions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse we know exists," Paige continued. "We have reiterated that call today with letters to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of both the House Committee on Government Reform and Senate Governmental Affairs. This latest scandal confirms that not only do postal officials lose, misspend and abuse the postal budget with impunity, they may also be using their scarce resources to manipulate elections, which is clearly prohibited by the 1970 Postal Reorganization Act. It's time for independent third party to get to the bottom of where all our money is going."

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest (one million members and supporters) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

A federal audit indicates the Postal Service wasted more than $1 billion over the last four years, Good Morning America's Consumer Correspondent Greg Hunter has learned.

Hunter tried to get an interview with Postmaster General William Henderson to discuss the auditors' findings, but Henderson would not talk to ABCNEWS.

"The postmaster is highly accountable," said USPS Senior Vice President Deborah Willhite. "He's just simply not doing an interview with you." Postal officials say the Postal Service is a $65 billion business. Waste, and abuse are a small fraction of that total budget, they say.

Meanwhile, Americans are paying more to have their mail delivered. The Postal Service recently boosted the price of stamps by a penny, to 34 cents. Now it seeks another increase that would raise stamp prices anywhere from 3 to 5 cents. And the agency is planning to study how much it could save by ending Saturday service.

Over the past four years, government auditors have discovered that more than $1.4 billion have been wasted because of mismanagement, abuse and fraud. While the service was raising rates for first-class mail, they discovered, some managers were treating themselves to a variety of perks and bloated benefits.

"It's outrageous," says Edward Hudgins of the Cato Institute. "If it did happen in the private sector, heads would roll, the people who wasted $23 million would be out looking for a job."

The Postal Service has also been criticized for spending $158 million in advertising for their overnight delivery services. Critics argue that the post office is a monopoly, and there is no need to advertise. The government agency even sponsors Lance Armstrong and the United States Cycling Team.

Despite criticism and big losses, postal officials have said that they will not cut their advertising budget.

"No business our size would operate without advertising to make people aware of the products they produce," Willhite said.

First-class mail volume is dropping, so the post office has spent and lost millions on new ventures.

It has spent $3.9 million trying to sell stamps from foreign countries. And it lost $84 million selling things like phone cards and postal clothing — everything from bike shirts to hats to socks.

Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., is frustrated at what he calls postal mismanagement.

"The post office would have broken even if they hadn't paid themselves a couple of hundred million in bonuses," he said. "And that speaks for itself."

Taxpayer groups say the government should stop giving the Postal Service money until it cuts the waste.

The Postal Service says it may lose $2 billion to $3 billion this year, prompting another stamp price increase. The agency says it has addressed some of the abuses, such as the town cars, which will not happen again.

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Donor name: Willhite
Donor state: VA
Election cycle(s): 2002 2000 1998 1996 1994 1992 1990

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Contributor	Occupation	Date	Amount	Recipient
WILLHITE, DEBBIE ARLINGTON, VA 22206	US POSTAL SERVICE	3/31/2002	$500	Cleland, Max
WILLHITE, DEBORAH ARLINGTON, VA 22206	BLACK MANIFORD AND STONE	9/16/1994	$250	Emily's List
WILLHITE, DEBORAH ARLINGTON, VA 22206	U S GOVERNMENT	11/26/2001	$1,000	Pryor, Mark Lunsford
WILLHITE, DEBORAH ARLINGTON, VA 22206	UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE	12/16/1999	$500	Clinton, Hillary Rodham
WILLHITE, DEBORAH ARLINGTON, VA 22206	UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE	7/28/2000	$250	Clinton, Hillary Rodham
WILLHITE, DEBORAH ARLINGTON, VA 22206	US POSTAL SERVICE	11/17/1999	$250	Dunn, Donald
WILLHITE, DEBORAH ARLINGTON, VA 22206	CONSULTING FIRM	2/27/1996	$250	Bristow, Bill W
WILLHITE, DEBORAH ARLINGTON, VA 22206	UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE	8/16/2001	$250	Clinton, Hillary Rodham
WILLHITE, DEBORAH ARLINGTON, VA 22206	US POSTAL SERVICE	6/22/1998	$300	Rapoport, Miles S
WILLHITE, DEBORAH ARLINGTON, VA 22206	US POSTAL SERVICE	5/25/2000	$250	Dunn, Donald
WILLHITE, DEBORAH K ARLINGTON, VA 22206	BLACK, MANFORT, STONE & KELLY	6/22/1995	$1,000	Clinton, Bill
WILLHITE, DEBORAH K ARLINGTON, VA 22206	U S POSTAL SERVICE	8/17/2000	$1,250	Democratic National Cmte
WILLHITE, DEBORAH K ARLINGTON, VA 22206	U.S. POSTAL SERVICE/SENIOR VICE PRE	3/1/2002	$500	HILLPAC
WILLHITE, DEBORAH K ARLINGTON, VA 22206	CONSULTANT	10/22/1996	$500	Henry, Ann

2002 cycle data downloaded from FEC on October 21, 2002. Date of request: November 3, 2002

I hope you DON'T expect them to deliver the mail since they have MORE IMPORTANT problems to solve like "a sticky enviromental situation"!

Postal Service addresses sticky situation with adhesive breakthrough

"This breakthrough in the development of environmentally safe adhesives will change the face of recycling around the world," said opening session speaker Deborah Willhite, Postal Service Senior Vice President, Government Relations and Public Policy. "Not only will it improve the environmental performance of postage stamps," she said, "it will also reach a much larger audience of adhesive users. This new technology will have a tremendous financial and environmental benefit for the Postal Service and for the American people."

Willhite called the current anti-lobbying rules "reasonable," given the Postal Service's federally blessed monopoly on delivering first-class mail. Still, she argued, the rules ultimately limit her ability to make the Postal Service's case in Washington. "My goodness gracious, if I could lobby and have a PAC, given our size and ubiquity, I believe we'd be very, very effective," Willhite said with a laugh.

For one thing, the Postal Service has a big government-relations staff--a 50-person team that has grown by roughly 16 employees during Willhite's tenure. It includes 20 "liaison officers" who meet with members of Congress.

Willhite is deeply familiar with both politics and K Street. A Navy enlistee in her youth, she later worked on five Democratic presidential campaigns, most recently for President Clinton in 1996. In between, she served as policy director for the speaker of the Connecticut House and as a lobbyist for the firm formerly known as Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly.

At Black, Manafort, Willhite handled lobbying work for such blue-chip clients as American Airlines Inc., AT&T Corp., and--ironically--UPS, which is considered the Postal Service's most bare-knuckled rival. She moved over to the Postal Service in early 1998 when William J. Henderson-the now-retired postmaster general and longtime Willhite family friend-recruited her to beef up the USPS's government-relations effort.

Postal employees can attend fundraisers as private citizens, but Willhite said she refrains from going. She acknowledged, however, that some of her staffers--in their capacity as private citizens--have attended political fundraisers.

Misusing chauffered vehicles still doesn't add up to $1,400,000,000!

I think the article you copied is referring to a presumption by the Postal OIG that it was possible to obtain greater efficiencies by changing various postal operations - not that there was that much waste, fraud and abuse going on.

Leastwise the OIG has admitted as much and the folks who prepared the studies claim they never used those words anyway.

Here's a choice for you - it's always been there - would you rather have reliable postal service, the fastest possible postal service, or the cheapest possible postal service?

The Postal Service OIG assumes that you want the cheapest possible postal service. "Fast" and "reliable" are words which are not in their lexicon! But if USPS listens to the OIG and starts "saving" that $1.4 billion, you are going to see your First-Class mail taken off of airplanes and put on trucks.

Monuments to Waste

Postal service managers have also received unusually large relocation packages in some cases.

When Richard Porras, the former chief financial officer of the Postal Service, moved from Fairfax, Va., to Vienna, Va. — a distance of 15 miles — he was given $142,000. On top of that he received $25,000 for miscellaneous expenses.

Porras has since retired, but he told ABCNEWS by telephone that the expenses were approved.

The inspector general's report reveals managers at the Postal Service have also squandered millions of dollars on buildings and equipment.

In Charlottesville, Va., the Postal Service leased a building for $4.2 million for 20 years. Then it left that building empty for two years before subleasing it to a tractor supply company.

In Chicago, the construction of the main post office ended up costing $128 million more than the original budget.

In Seattle, postal officials bought a building without getting a detailed inspection. Later they discovered the building needed $23 million in repairs.

"It's outrageous," says Edward Hudgins of the Cato Institute. "If it did happen in the private sector, heads would roll, the people who wasted $23 million would be out looking for a job."

The Postal Service has also been criticized for spending $158 million in advertising for their overnight delivery services. Critics argue that the post office is a monopoly, and there is no need to advertise. The government agency even sponsors Lance Armstrong and the United States Cycling Team.

Despite criticism and big losses, postal officials have said that they will not cut their advertising budget.

"No business our size would operate without advertising to make people aware of the products they produce," Willhite said.

On June 30th, the Postal Service will raise the price of a First-Class stamp from $0.34 to $0.37. The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) confirms that, despite recent annual rate increases, the Postal Service is headed for its third consecutive annual deficit since fiscal year 2000. In addition, it is nearly $13 billion in debt with more than $80 billion in additional liabilities looming, and it has no debt reduction plan in place. Due to this bleak financial outlook, GAO placed the Postal Service on its "high-risk" list.

To back its call for greater accountability, CAGW released a new Wirthlin Worldwide survey confirming that 85 percent of the public wants independent auditors to investigate the Postal Service's finances and make the results public, before the Postal Service is allowed to raise rates again. Paige added, "If Enron had to open its financial books to the world, doesn't the public have the right to demand the same of our debt-ridden and hopelessly mismanaged Postal Service?"

To highlight the need for Postal officials to act more responsibly, CAGW unveiled a series of "commemorative stamps" depicting egregious examples of recent Postal waste and mismanagement. CAGW and other groups are making the stamps available online to their members and the public at www.cagw.org. CAGW is launching a national protest to encourage supporters to download the "stamps" from the Internet, and - after affixing the proper postage - affix them elsewhere on letters to federal officials demanding a Postal Service audit. [Note: these stamps are clearly labeled as having "no cash value."]

The six "commemorative stamps" visually depict the following:

"Where's Our Money Going?" - represents the fact that the GAO confirms the Postal Service is billions of dollars in debt, despite annual rate increases, and has no debt reduction plan in place.

"Postal Execs Gone Fishin'" - represents the fact that the very day after consumers are forced to pay higher Postal rates, top Postal officials are set to jet away on a junket to a luxury resort hotel in Anchorage, Alaska.

"Priority Mail Not a Priority" - represents the fact that the Postal Rate Commission's Office of Consumer Advocate recently revealed that Priority Mail is no faster, and sometimes slower, than First-Class Mail - and the Postal Service continues to mislead consumers about this service.

"Fat Cat Executive Bonuses" - represents the fact that the Postal Service's own Inspector General confirms that the managers responsible for allowing the Postal Service to amass billions of dollars of debt, paid themselves $805 million in "performance" bonuses between 1998 and 2000. Still others used Postal funds to help pay their personal home mortgages.

"Postal Execs Limo Lawbreakers" - represents the fact that top Postal managers were caught breaking federal law - over 500 times - by using chauffeured-driven limousines to shop and travel between home and office.

"Postal Service High Risk" - represents the fact that, due to its deteriorated financial situation, the Postal Service was placed on GAO's "High Risk" list.

Moving 2 USPS executives: $248,000
USPS funds wasted: $1.1 billion

A total of $1.1 billion has been uncovered in wasted spending by the inspector general. The inspector general office was established by the Republican Congress and this waste was documented in just three years. For example, the Postal Service abused its authority to pay relocation benefits to employees when two high-level executives were paid $248,000 last year for local moves that did not involve a transfer in duty station. In fact, one officer, the Chief Financial Officer, only moved 2.5 miles, and the other, the Service's Controller, moved a total of 20 miles. The Postal Service's Board agreed that these payments were not justified, and they acted swiftly to amend their Bylaws and increase Board oversight to prevent such problems in the future.

Add to your list that the USPS once purchased a building in Josephine Ferraro's Congressional district for the purpose of getting it off the Hazmat lists.

It had once been the site of a copper smelter.

It took USPS years and years to get out of that situation, and the dollar values involved dwarf anything you mentioned.

That Ward guy you mention was involved in that particular deal as well as the others in various capacities. Mr. Porras left quickly. Ward hung around. Henderson, Ms. Willhite's buddy, just couldn't bear to see him go.

Sometimes mistakes are made, but in USPS what's going on is that almost 100% of the management team consists of Democrats. I don't think we've had a single Republican in one of the VP or SR.VP. positions in the last 25 years, and that includes when Mr. Casey (now on the Board of Governors) was PMG. In fact, he came in and set in motion a process that resulted in the removal or demotion of almost every management capable Republican in the USPS. Who recommended him for appointment to the USPS Board? That individual should be horsewhipped and sent packing!

What is YOUR PROBLEM?! They find the Postal Service is abusing and wasting TAX DOLLARS and you have a fit! No one is saying that the regular postal workers are anything but hard-working. They are saying that the BIG BOSSES are WASTING MONEY, which is true.

For instance, we just had a NEW POST OFFICE built when there was absolutely NOTHING WRONG with the older one. It still houses the FEDERAL COURTS, the FEDERAL JUDGE and office spaces for some probation officers. They were suppose to CLOSE the old one but guess what? NO ONE USES THE NEW ONE!!! It's OUT OF THE WAY! DUH! That was a WASTE!!! People are STILL USING the OLD POST OFFICE but NOT THE NEW ONE!!! WASTED $$$$$$$$!!!!!

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