The U.S. Postal Service is in dire fiscal straits, having lost more than $100 billion over the past 15 years. That could be hard to guess given the agency’s exorbitant spending habits.
America’s mail carrier is spending nearly $10 billion to purchase 100,000 delivery vehicles, more than half of which will be electric.
While periodic fleet upgrades can be a sensible policy, committing to a majority-electric fleet is a needlessly expensive choice for taxpayers and consumers. [emphasis, links added]
But rather than level with the American people and explain its extravagant spending decisions, the USPS has gone into full CIA mode and insists on redacting basic information about its purchases even after a Freedom of Information Act request from the Taxpayers Protection Alliance Foundation (TPAF).
The agency should embrace transparency and find a more sensible way to spend Americans’ hard-earned dollars.
In early fleet planning discussions, the USPS seemed reasonably reluctant to pursue electrification. This changed, though, when Postmaster General Louis DeJoy realized he could use electric vehicles as a bargaining chip for more federal funding.
In a February 2022 news release directed at Congress, the postal executive stated that procurement plans included, “an initial order plan for 5,000 electric vehicles, and the flexibility to increase the number of electric vehicles introduced should additional funding become available. Absent such funding, we must make fiscally responsible decisions that result in the needed introduction of safer and environmentally cleaner vehicles for the men and women who deliver America’s mail.”
Lawmakers listened, and handed the USPS $3 billion in taxpayer money as part of the Inflation Reduction Act passed later that year.
Now the USPS is living high on the taxpayer’s hog as it projects the purchase of nearly 70,000 EVs as part of its 106,000 vehicle acquisition plan.
While the USPS has publicly stated its portion of the tab will total more than $6 billion, the agency has given precious little detail on the cost breakdown.
In its December 2023 audit report “Fleet Modernization – Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Acquisition,” the USPS inspector general placed a redaction over the number of charging stations initially purchased by the agency as well as the cost of the charging stations.
The report also discusses the theft of charging station equipment and information technology resources, but similarly redacts critical information.
Taxpayers and consumers are left with little/no information about theft locations or plans to improve security. Even basic information about daily patrols has been hidden from public view.
On Feb. 2, the TPAF submitted a FOIA to the USPS asking for basic information about the agency’s EV procurement costs and policies. On March 8, the USPS rendered its (non)-response.
The TPAF received procurement contracts for EV chargers, but with heavy redactions that obscured all relevant figures. In addition to citing a slew of court cases to support its secrecy, the USPS stated, “[39 U.S.C. § 410(c)(2)] provides that ‘information of a commercial nature, including trade secrets, whether or not obtained from a person outside the Postal Service, which under good business practice would not be publicly disclosed’ is exempt from the disclosure requirements of the FOIA.”
In other words, the USPS can claim wide latitude to hide anything business-related even if taxpayers are footing the bill. If it wanted to, the USPS could insist that this information be public.
Taxpayers are regularly informed about the cost of contracts in other contexts across the government, and it doesn’t seem like the information would significantly impact commercial interests.
Any minor annoyance faced by a company having to publish this information would surely be outweighed by its taxpayer-funded payday. But, the USPS seems to relish in pretending it is the CIA and hiding basic information from the public.
If and when the agency finally opens its books, taxpayers and consumers will see the outrageous EV spending and demand the USPS change its ways. TPAF hopes for that outcome and will continue to fight this outrageous postal secrecy.
Top photo by Jason Hawke 🇨🇦 on Unsplash
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