A great day for Post Offices

stltoday ^ | 24 Sept 2010 | Dana Millbank

[smokingfrog]

Reporters walking into House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office Tuesday morning noticed an open supply cabinet with a tape measure on the shelf.

It was a strange bit of office equipment. Are Democrats so resigned to defeat that they're expecting Republicans to stop by and take measurements of the majority offices?

Democrats still have their largest majority in decades, but they have succumbed to paralysis in the closing days of the legislative session. Congress has yet to pass a budget or a single one of the annual spending bills. Plans to spur the economy with tax cuts await action. Senate Democrats, faced with a GOP filibuster, now have punted on immigration reform and repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military.

Meanwhile, House Democrats have little on their schedule. Among items on their agenda this week: H.R. 1545, "Expressing support for designation of the week beginning on the third Monday in September as 'National Postdoc Appreciation Week.'" And: H.R. 4387, naming the building at 100 North Palafox St. in Pensacola, Fla., the "Winston E. Arnow Federal Building."

"Your schedule," Linda Scott of PBS remarked to Hoyer at Tuesday morning's meeting, "looks pretty light." She asked whether Democrats are "telling you they need to be back home, rather than naming post offices?"

"We always name post offices," Hoyer replied with irritation. "It's a worthwhile endeavor to do that, and people really do appreciate it, particularly when it's their name and their community."

The Democrats are unable to rally themselves around tax cuts for millions of Americans, and their leader is defending ... postal namings. In fairness, they're not just talking about post offices: They're also talking about flags. "On the floor we'll have the All-American Flag Act," announced Hoyer.

[smokingfrog]

H.R. 2853: All-American Flag Act

whoopie!

[wastedyears]

The All-American Flag Act is the first pro-America thing Democrats have done since taking office. Considering they took the majority in 2006, that’s not a good thing for 4 years.

[Ellendra]

It was a strange bit of office equipment. Are Democrats so resigned to defeat that they're expecting Republicans to stop by and take measurements of the majority offices?

Seriously? Is that the only reason reporters can think of for having a tape measure in an office????

[Drill Thrawl]

Is that the only reason reporters can think of for having a tape measure in an office

Well Pelosi and DiFi need someway to measure whose is bigger. We know Dingy already lost that one.

[skr]

Why does it take the U.S. Congress to name a post office? And why are they building new ones if there’s not enough work for the ones already in existence?

[CharlesWayneCT]

So, the federal government will only be allowed to buy American Flags from american companies, who don't employ illegal immigrants, and who purchase ALL of their supplies from american manufacturers.

There are of course already hundreds of such companies, and an organization that certifies flags.

But I bet that the government regulators will make it so hard to prove that you meet the requirements of the bill that no American company will be able to afford to meet the requirements.

And it won't make a difference, because as the GOP.gov site explains:

The Congressional Budget Office expects that implementing this bill would have no significant effect on the federal budget because the Flag Manufacturers Association of America already certifies (through the Made in the USA program) that manufacturers of American flags meet most of those requirements.

The requirements:

All-American Flag Act - Requires any flags of the United States acquired for use by the federal government to be entirely manufactured in the United States, from articles, materials, or supplies entirely grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States.

I hope we still have some place in this country that manufactures the thread used to make our flags, and the grommets used to secure them, and the dyes used to color them.

[itsahoot]

I could be wrong, but I think the government builds post offices then leases them from some owner. Sort of like wheat silos built on the farmer’s property, his wheat bought then stored for the government, which then pays for the storage.

Billy Sol Estes comes to mind.

[itsahoot]

This should make the flags unaffordable, right?

[skr]

It just seems as if they have better things to do. Post offices can be named for the street they are on or for the city they’re in. I know, what a disgustingly boring idea when there are worthy people whose names could grace a pseudo-government building.

[upchuck]

And why are they building new ones if there’s not enough work for the ones already in existence?

Disclaimer: I am NOT pro-USPS, anything but. Having said that, somethimes it's for replacement. The post office in a town near me was, believe it or not, housed in a very old house trailer. There was a two year wait for a PO Box because there wasn't enough room to install more boxes. PO Box owners could access their box only during business hours. The place was very insecure and got broken into regularly, even with an alarm.

The USPS bought a nearby piece of land and built a nice, small Post Office. Tripled the number of PO Boxes, now available 24x7. The building is much more secure.

The folks who live around there just wish they could have gotten a new Postmaster with the new Post Office. The guy was incompetent in the old PO and is still incompetent in the new one. He's union so he isn't going anywhere until he retires. What a shame.