Here we go again. Congress resurrected pork-barrel earmarks earlier this year. Now, as the Republicans prepare to take over the House and the GOP conference considers their party rules for the 118th Congress, it is critical that Republicans vote against earmarks. A vote is scheduled for just after Thanksgiving and we need your help to stop these pork-barrel earmarks NOW! Please visit here to sign the petition.
A special thank you to Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) who is spearheading the effort to stop these pork-barrel earmarks. Visit here to sign the petition.
Postal Problems Persist
The Biggest Loser
Last week the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) posted a $4.4 billion loss. America’s mail carrier has lost more than $100 billion over the past fifteen years and continues to shed resources despite an initiative to slow down mail services. According to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, additional losses through 2030 may climb to $70 billion, wiping out the agency’s $20 billion cash balance. While President Biden signed “reform” legislation into law in April 2022, the changes have thus far failed to improve efficiency or reduce expenses at the beleaguered agency. The USPS needs to reverse course to avoid an endless string of taxpayer bailouts. Unfortunately, the agency and lawmakers appear unwilling and unable to do what is needed to bring the USPS back into the black. Policymakers have resigned themselves to slowing down the mail and shifting around retirement liabilities instead of improving workforce efficiency or properly pricing parcels. The USPS needn’t choose between an affordable and reliable mail service and fiscal solvency. It’s time to consolidate the over-extended postal network in a way that doesn’t shortchange consumers or taxpayers.
For the past year, inflation has spiraled out of control as policymakers have passed the buck instead of holding themselves accountable. These price hikes have hit the USPS, and now, stamp prices are set to increase a further 5 percent to 63 cents in January. Consumers are being asked to shoulder more of the financial burden while getting a deteriorating service through slowdowns and poorly-thought-out post office closures. The new Congress should work with postal leadership to reverse course and keep prices under control. The USPS can and must focus on reducing costs and providing a better experience for consumers. The agency can deliver again for the American people, but not without controlling spending and ensuring that prices cover costs. Newly-elected lawmakers need to work with Postmaster General DeJoy to create a stronger, more resilient Postal Service.
Stamp(s) of disapproval
It’s that time of year again for America’s mail carriers. With two months to spare before 2023, the Postal Service has unveiled a colorful array of new postage stamps for the coming year. Consumers can look forward to novel designs featuring the Great Smoky Mountains, floral geometry, red foxes and winter woodland animals. Unfortunately, consumers will have to pay a pretty penny for these nifty new stamps. First-class Forever stamps are slated to rise 5%, from 60 cents to 63 cents. This comes after a 2-cent increase (from 58 cents) in July. The American people deserve to know why they’re being asked to pay more for sending letters when their mail service is actively being slowed down by postal leadership. Fun stamp designs cannot make up for the fiscal folly of failed postal policies. Stamps are one of many products to see repeated price hikes over the past year. Consumers have had to cope with $4 per gallon gasoline, 13% Halloween candy inflation, and soon, more costly Christmas gifts. At least for these products, consumers know what they’re getting once they cough up extra cash. Postal Service deliveries aren’t what they used to be. Delivery wait times have gotten progressively longer as part of a plan by postal leadership to cut long-term costs. In October 2021, new service standards went into effect tacking one to two days onto 30% to 40% of first-class mail. The Postal Service estimated cost savings per year from this initiative amount to less than $200 million, a fraction of a percent of operating costs ($80 billion) in any given year. The truth is that price hikes and service cutbacks will only erode the service’s brand without making a dent in the agency’s $100 billion cumulative net losses.
There are plenty of alternatives that postal leadership could pursue without cutting into consumer expectations. The agency could save more than $1 billion per year through more consistent auditing and scheduling of employees more efficiently. Additionally, the struggling agency has far more processing equipment and collection boxes than it needs. This excess network capacity diverts critical manpower from core delivery priorities and needlessly prolongs routes. Ramping up removals could go a long way toward creating a lean, consolidated postal network. In addition, the agency should consider shuttering/selling post offices that are losing money and are close to other operational post offices. A 2021 report by the agency inspector general notes that “among nearly 13,000 underwater post offices, one-quarter are within three miles of another post office and more than half are within five miles.”
With a balanced cost-cutting approach, postal leadership can get the agency back into the black without sacrificing affordability.
Tennessee Healthcare CON Job
Americans are still recovering from COVID lockdowns – by far one of the worst examples of chaos created by government intrusion. Career bureaucrats wreaked havoc on the economy and education system from their offices in Washington, D.C. Americans were left to fend for themselves while their businesses and savings accounts were depleted. Despite all these measures taken to safeguard the healthcare system, hospitals across the country were still overrun during the height of the pandemic. The deregulation that occurred at the federal and state level to spur the economy and ensure the healthcare system was able to quickly respond to the ever-changing environment showed the power of regulatory reform without forcing taxpayers to foot the bill. Tennessee’s deregulation of some of the provisions of Certificate of Need (CON) during the pandemic was a shining example. Most Tennesseans don’t know CON laws still exist. These regulations are a prime example of senseless and harmful bureaucratic red tape that continues to impact all Tennesseans. They reduce access to lifesaving care across Tennessee, harming big cities and rural communities. In short, CON laws require new medical providers in the state – commonly hospitals –demonstrate that there is a “need” for their services in the community where they want to invest in health care infrastructure and operate. A little known fact is that twelve unelected bureaucrats oversee this burdensome, arbitrary approval process on the behemoth Tennessee Health Facilities Commission that was newly created from the merger of two separate state health departments. Additionally, competing health systems operating in the region can be a powerful voice preventing a competitor’s application from receiving approval.
The red tape built into CON laws significantly hinders the necessary expansion of Tennessee’s healthcare system to meet the need of growing communities across the state. It’s also objectionable to anyone who believes in the power of the free market to address gaps in the marketplace. CON regulation essentially allows the government to pick winners and losers in healthcare. In fact, 12 states have repealed their CON laws because of their harmful consequences. Limiting the number of healthcare providers directly results in increased costs for consumers and decreased access to essential care. Governor Bill Lee and the legislature should be applauded for taking the first steps to address the negative impacts of CON laws while COVID continued to create stress on the healthcare system last year. The state implemented CON reform to lessen some of the red tape hospitals contend with to manage their beds for overnight stay, and especially for the rural neighbors that desperately need access to medical services now.
Rural Communities are suffering the most from a lack of access to care. Tennessee has experienced the second most rural hospital closures in the country over the last 17 years, with 55 percent of the remaining still “at-risk.” Hospital closures have left a significant gap in healthcare that is compounded by the devastating effects of the opioid epidemic. CON repeal will help open the door to healthcare providers who can deliver much needed emergency care for rural Tennesseans. Tennessee is growing. The state – home to three of the ten fastest growing cities in the south – is expected to grow by nearly 10 percent across the next decade. With a population reaching 7.5 million, repealing CON immediately will allow Tennessee’s health care infrastructure to keep up with this growth.
Fully repealing CON laws during the 2023 legislative session will remove bureaucratic red tape and unaccountable government officials from the healthcare system, freeing hospitals to focus on improving access to affordable, high-quality health care instead of wasting resources and time on this onerous approval process.
BLOGS:
Monday: TPA Urges Congress to Practice Fiscal Responsibility During Lame-Duck Session
Tuesday: New Congress Must Review Internal Rules to Promote Good Governance
Wednesday: ‘Tis the Season to Talk About Smoking!
Thursday: TPA Sends Letter to House Republicans on GOP Conference Rules Amendments for New Congress
Friday: TPA Launches Petition to Oppose Earmarks in the 118th Congress
MEDIA:
November 11, 2022: Texas Insider mentioned TPA in their story, “Texas Congressman Introduces Credit Card "Competition" Bill That's Bad for America's Consumers.”
November 11, 2022: Townhall.com ran TPA’s op-ed, “Most Americans Get Combustion Is Harmful for the Environment, But Not for Lungs.”
November 13, 2022: The Boston Herald (Boston, Mass.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Stamps can’t paper over postal woes.”
November 14, 2022: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about pensions for Baltimore City council members.
November 14, 2022: The Center Square ran TPA’s op-ed, “The CDC and FDA are misleading the public about youth vaping.”
November 14, 2022: The NH Journal ran TPA’s op-ed, “Stamp Designs Can’t Paper Over Postal Problems.”
November 15, 2022: I appeared on 55KRC Radio (Cincinnati, Ohio) to talk about inflation and baby formula.
November 15, 2022: Patrick Hedger joined ‘The Lars Larson Show’ (Nationally Syndicated) to discuss the lame-duck session.
November 15, 2022: The Tennessee Star (Nashville, Tenn.) ran TRA’s op-ed, “Tennessee Healthcare CON Job.”
November 16, 2022: Dan Savickas joined ‘The Barrett Brief’ (New Orleans, La.) to discuss the importance of app security and news of day.
November 16, 2022: The Jacksonville Journal-Courier (Jacksonville, Ill.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Stamp designs can’t paper over problems.”
November 16, 2022: RealClear Policy ran TPA’s op-ed, “Public Health is in Dangerous Denial on Vaping.”
November 16, 2022: Inside Sources ran TPA’s op-ed, “A ‘Big Tech Tax’ Won’t Save the Internet.”
November 16, 2022: Broadband Breakfast ran TPA’s op-ed, “Federal Bureaucracy an Impediment to Broadband on Tribal Lands.”
November 17, 2022: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about education spending in Baltimore, Md.
November 17, 2022: I was quoted in a story by WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) titled, “Baltimore City Council bill to change pension requirements set for a vote Monday.”
November 17, 2022: I appeared on WBOB Radio (600 AM AND 101 FM Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about earmarks and the economy.
November 17, 2022: I appeared on “The David Webb Show” (Nationally Syndicated) to discuss gas prices, the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act, and inflation.
November 17, 2022: The Waco-Tribune Herald (Waco, Tx.) ran TPA’s op-ed,” Stamp designs can’t paper over postal problems.”
November 17, 2022: TPA was mentioned in Based Politics’ article, “AOC launches (rather dumb) attack on Ticketmaster after Taylor Swift crash.”
Have a great weekend!
