This all started because The Postal Service workers overpaid their payroll taxes to the tune of $57 Billion Dollars.
First, background:
1) Postal Workers are Civilian Employees.
2) Post Office is a "Civilian Employer."
3) Postal Service does not get one penny of taxpayer money for their operations.
4) Postal Service is only subsidized for sending Voting Ballots to disabled and overseas voters.
5) Post Office is legally obligated to serve all Americans, regardless of geography, at uniform price and quality.
6) Postal Service is legally obligated to NOT open anyone's mail under the 14th Amendment.
7) Private carriers, UPS & FedEx are not obligated to serve all Americans, regardless of geography uniform price and quality.
8) Private carriers, who open packages are NOT subject to the 14th Amendment
See: States v. Jacobsen, 466 U.S. 109, 113, 80 L. Ed. 2d 85, 104 S.Ct. 1652 (1984).
Back to the Postal Workers overpaying $57Billion Dollars from their payroll tax deduction.
Fact is, no one knows why, or how, or what policy equation the Postal Service used when calculating the payroll tax from the worker's payroll checks that gave rise to the $57 Billion Dollar overpayment, and there is nothing illegal about overpaying payroll tax --- but the fact remains that everyone admits the Postal Workers did, somehow and for some reason, overpay their payroll tax by $57 Billion Dollars.
In other words, no one denies that the Postal Workers overpaid payroll taxes by $57Billion Dollars.
The problem is - Rep. Darrell Issa(R-Ca) and Rep. Dennis Ross(R-Fl) do not want the US Treasurer (IRS) to refund the Postal Workers their hard earned money ($57 Billion Dollars) as they (Rep. Darrell Issa(R-Ca) and Rep. Dennis Ross(R-Fl)) want to keep the worker's $57Billion Dollars.
The Postal Workers want that $57 Billion Dollar overpayment back ... but Republican House elected leaders, Rep. Darrell Issa(R-Ca) and Rep. Dennis Ross(R-Fl) say no.
In fact, both Rep. Darrell Issa(R-Ca) and Rep. Dennis Ross(R-Fl) are so against the IRS refunding the Postal Workers that they have drafted Legislation making it legal for Congress to keep and/or confiscate taxpayer's money that should be refunded to them.
Anyone reading this would be, and should be, outraged if Congress refused to refund any overpayment you paid in taxes.
Equally outrageous is that two members of Congress, Darrell Issa and Dennis Ross, are drafting legislation preventing Civilian Workers from getting a Refund for overpaying payroll taxes.
Many Americans get Refund checks from the US Treasurer (IRS) because they (taxpayer) have overpaid their Federal Income tax throughout the year.
If a taxpayer overpays their taxes they get a Refund check - simple.
In October 2011, the Government Accountability Office [GAO] issued a Reported that the Postal Workers did overpay their payroll taxes, and the GAO said it was not illegal to overpay. However, GAO did not know what 'policy' the Postal Service used that gave rise to the $57Billion Overpayment.
"Although the United States Postal Service (USPS) reports present alternative methodologies for determining the allocation of pension costs [payroll taxes], this determination is ultimately a policy choice rather than a question of accounting or actuarial standards."
~GAO Memo
The GAO report also said that, while they could not find any error in the Postal Service equation, they (GAO) was not able to determine what 'policy' the Postal Service used when calculating the payroll tax deduction that gave rise to the $57Billion overpayment:
"Some have referred to "overpayments" that USPS has made to the [Civil Service Retirement System] CSRS fund [payroll tax fund], which can imply an error of some type--mathematical, actuarial, or accounting. We have not found evidence of error of these types."
~GAO Memo
Bottom line: GAO that did not refute the overpayments, but concluded the overpayment were not borne from any math errors, just some sort of 'policy' error.
In February 2011, Susan Collins (R) introduced:
"U.S. Postal Service Improvements Act of 2011"
At the time, Collins put this on her Senate Website
"Senator Collins' bill would fix the overpayment by the Postal Service to the Civil Service Retirement System, [CSRS] estimated to be more than $50 billion, as well as the approximately $3 billion it has overpaid into the FERS. This legislation would direct the Office of Personnel Management [OPM] to correct the methodology for calculating Postal Service obligations to these pension funds and would greatly improve USPS's financial condition."
~Senator Collins website
Thus, Senator Collins acknowledged Civilian Postal Workers did, in fact, have $53Billion Dollars in overpayments taken out of they payroll checks.
It should be noted here that the $3Billion Dollars has been revised up to $7Billion. It should also be noted that Senator Collin's Bill was quickly rejected by members of her own party, Republicans, so she shelved her Bill.
The United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 8 gives Congress the power to levy taxes to establish a Post Office and Postal Roads, and that is just what the Second Continental Congress did in 1775. In 1775, the 2nd Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as Postmaster General.
Now, 235 years later, Rep. Darrell Issa(R-Ca) and Rep. Dennis Ross(R-Fl) want the Postal Service to be "privatized."
Also now, the Postal Workers have asked for their "Refund" of their $57Billion Dollar overpayment but Rep. Darrell Issa(R-Ca) and Rep. Dennis Ross(R-Fl) say no.
Now, Rep. Darrell Issa(R-Ca) and Rep. Dennis Ross(R-Fl) are drafting Legislation that will enable Congress to keep and/or confiscate and/or steal, the $57 Billion Dollars the Postal Workers have overpaid from their Payroll Tax.
Darrell Issa (R-Ca) does not want to refund the Workers their $57Billion Dollars and said,
"Giving USPS access to that money is not an adequate solution because it does not deal with the underlying problems that USPS faces as a business: namely, declining mail volume, and an “outdated business model.”
~Darrell Issa (R) October 2011
In a Tweet, Rep Dennis Ross wrote:
"Would welcome a judges decision to add to the GAO, OPM, opinion pages, etc who say no CSRS overpayment is owed."
~Rep Dennis Ross (R-Fl), Tweet Dec 5, 2011
Please notice that Rep. Dennis Ross does NOT deny the Workers overpaid $57 Billion Dollar
Ross only falsely claims GAO and OPM says no refund is 'owed' - which is dishonest, a bold faced lie in fact, as the GAO, nor the OPM ever wrote "no CSRS overpayment is owed."
Rep Darrell Issa (R-Ca)
September 28th, 2010 the Dutko Group lobbying firm hosted a “California Wine Tasting” Fundraiserfundraiser for Issa. Clients included FedEx.
Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fl)
Fed Ex & UPS are donors of Ross.
Separate and apart from the $57Billion Dollar overpayment that Postal Workers had taken from their payroll checks, In 2006, the Republican Controlled House and Senate passed a law that required the Postal Service to pay 75 years worth of payroll tax to fund their pension in 10 years.
Remember, no other agency is asked to pay 75 years worth of payroll taxes in a 10 year window.
The House of Representatives is not asked to pay 75 years worth of payroll taxes in a 10 year window.
The Senate is not asked to pay 75 years worth of payroll taxes in a 10 year window.
So, when you couple, and add together the:
1) $57 Billion Dollar Overpayment in Payroll Taxes PLUS
2) the added cost to the Postal Worker of collecting 75 years worth of payroll taxes in a 10 year window
THEN: you end up with an agency that is running shy of operation money.
Gee, ya gotta ask, "Why did the Republican controlled Congress want to have the Postal Service collect 75 years worth of payroll taxes in a 10 year window when Congress won't do the same for themselves?"
hmmm ....
Ya also have to ask, "Why do Darrell Issa and Dennis Ross want to keep, and/or confiscate the Civilian Worker's $57 Billion Dollars of hard earned money they overpaid in their payroll taxes?
Ya see, the Civilian Postal Workers want THEIR money back so they can put THEIR money into the operating cost of the Post Office, so that the Post Office won't have to layoff employees, but Dennis Ross and Darrell Issa will not let them have their money to do that.
Why not?
Why are Darrell Issa and Dennis Ross against the workers using their own money to help the Post Office? That's odd
Why are Darrell Issa and Dennis Ross going to the trouble of writing legislation denying workers get refunds back when they overpay payroll tax?
In fact, Darrell Issa and Dennis Ross are doubling down and trying to con "the People" into being against refunding the Workers THEIR $57Billion Dollars they overpaid - by saying that somehow, that REFUND would be a bailout.
Why would Darrell Issa and Dennis Ross call a REFUND of tax overpayment to Workers a "Bailout?"
GOP Paid Propagandist Frank Luntz wrote:
"Frankly, the single best way to kill any legislation is to link it to ... Bailout."
~Frank Luntz - page 7 How To Kill Financial Reform
Luntz went on to say:
"The bailout provisions get the most visceral reaction. It is not often you come across an issue where people of all political stripes come together so stridently on an issue. Taxpayer bailouts of CEOs and companies are such an issue."
~Frank Luntz Propaganda Memo -page 7
So, in keeping with what their GOP paid propagandist, Frank Luntz, tells them, Darrell Issa and Dennis Ross call giving Civilian Workers their Refund from payroll tax overpayment a "bailout."
In October 2011, Rep Darrell Issa (R-Ca) and Rep Dennis Ross (R-Fl) introduced the Postal Reform Act. The Republican House Website wrote:
"Seeking to prevent another taxpayer bailout, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, introduced today legislation to implement sweeping, structural reforms of the United States Postal Service (USPS)."
~Darrell Issa October 2011
Issa and Ross doubled down and made a propaganda Video where the narrator leaves the false impression that having the IRS give the Postal Workers back their $57 Billion Dollars in Overpayments would be a "bailout."
The narrator says:
"ensuring the Postal Service meets its obligations without exposing taxpayers to a multi-billion taxpayer funded bailout.
~Republicans Issa and Ross Propaganda Video, October 2011”
How do you like that, Issa calls giving the Civilian Postal Workers their hard earned $57Billion Dollars back a "bailout."
What industry is next?
When will Rep. Darrell Issa(R-Ca) and Rep. Dennis Ross(R-Fl) pass a law denying ALL Workers in the USA Refund checks from the IRS?