Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst demanded that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) account for the building's use in a letter sent Friday.
The USPS lost more than $18 billion over the last two fiscal years using generally accepted accounting procedures, according to a Nov. 14 report. release agency. IN letterErnst demanded that Postmaster General David Steiner respond to questions about USPS-owned or leased facilities by Jan. 9, 2026, citing a Nov. 24 post. report agency inspector general. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: GOP Senator Sounds Alarm About Uncle Sam Taking Rent from Huge Government Construction Portfolio During Shutdown)
“The IG found that USPS has no reliable data on how it uses its buildings, no comprehensive waste reduction strategy, and no recorded footprint estimates for its more than 21,500 buildings,” Ernst wrote.
A U.S. Postal Service truck drives down Pennsylvania Avenue with the U.S. Capitol in the background in Washington, D.C., April 23, 2020. – For many Americans, checking the mailbox is a daily ritual, a constant in a fast-changing world that can bring anything from wedding invitations to tax checks to new clothes. But as with so many other normal things as the coronavirus crisis unfolds, the U.S. Postal Service, already compromised by a mountain of debt, faces an uncertain future. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
“If you're wondering how the U.S. Postal Service loses billions every year, consider the fact that they admittedly have no idea if they're using the buildings they pay for,” Ernst told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Unfortunately, this is not uncommon in Washington, where your tax dollars pay for 7,700 completely empty buildings! I will continue to lead the effort to evaluate the federal government's bloated real estate portfolio and reduce unnecessary and costly office space.”
The USPS owns or leases more than 34,000 buildings nationwide, of which more than 95% have either not been inspected at all or have been inspected since 2020, according to the IG report.
“The Postal Service has failed to effectively manage excess and underutilized space because it does not have reliable data, does not know the amount of this space across its entire network, and does not have a comprehensive strategy for reducing this space. The Postal Service also has failed to meet key requirements [Federal Property Management Reform Act (FPMRA)] requiring reporting of excess and underutilized space,” the report said.
Ernst examined the problems associated with the ownership of real estate by the federal government. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Memo provided According to the Daily Caller News Foundation in December 2023, only six of 24 agencies had building utilization rates below the Department of Transportation's 14%, with the Social Security Administration having the lowest utilization rate at 7%.
In December 2023, Ernst's office reported to DCNF that each government agency was using less than half of its office space, with the State Department using 49% of its office space, the highest.
Ernst presented S. 3901Ernst's office told DCNF that the legislation would not only generate $400 million in revenue, but would also save $2.9 billion in maintenance costs and make it easier to sell other buildings. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Joni Ernst asks Trump admin to withdraw $14 billion from wasteful projects)
A small US Postal Service truck in Carson City, Nevada. USPS often uses these small vehicles in suburban areas. Wikimedia Commons/Public/Coolcaesar, CC BY-SA 3.0
Ernst released a 60-page report December 5, 2024, which highlighted the findings of her investigation into telework. problems. Among the issues discussed in the report were the implications that largely empty office buildings affected the quality of the environment in the workplace.
“Hazardous contaminants are collecting in standing water as building occupancy declines. Several employees working in federal buildings have been diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease, and potentially deadly bacteria are being found in underutilized government buildings across the country,” Ernst wrote in a December 2024 report. “Unsafe levels of lead and copper are found in drinking water at child care centers located in government buildings.”
The federal government also spent $3.3 billion on new furniture, even as most government employees worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. according to in the New York Post.
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