Washington, DC (October 17, 2011) Today Congressman Steve Pearce released the following statement regarding the Government Accountability Office Report on the U.S. Postal Service that was released on October 13th:

"USPS claims that they overpaid into the Civil Service Retirement System by $50-$75 billion since 1974," said Pearce. "I said before that the notion of ‘overpayment' is inaccurate, and the GAO report affirms what I previously stated, and backs up the conclusions of a previous study by the Office of Personnel Management. Transferring assets from the CSRS to fund the worsening Postal Service accounts would take billions from taxpayers without holding USPS accountable."

"Although USPS looks for places to lay blame, the simple truth is that they are operating under an ineffective business model, in which labor costs continue to eat up 80% of USPS revenue," Pearce continued. "Pointing the finger and receiving a bailout will not solve the structural problems of the Postal Service's budget."

To read the entire GAO Report, visit: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-146.