June 04, 2014

Washington D.C. – Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the following statement in response to Republican leadership recommending that USPS eliminate delivery on Saturdays and the funds saved from this move would be used as funding for the Highway Trust Fund:

Senator Boxer statement:

Late Friday, Republican leaders of the House came out with a strange plan to ‘rescue’ the Highway Trust Fund for a few months. Instead of working with Democrats to come up with a sensible user fee which has been the foundation of the Highway Trust Fund, House Republican Leadership proposes cutting back mail deliveries to American households. This idea is a jobs killer which does not even fund the Highway Trust Fund for a long enough period of time to provide the certainty that states, cities, and businesses need. This plan is a classic example of House Republicans not planning for a shortfall we have known about for years. It is ‘the dog ate my homework excuse.’ It is unworkable, makes no sense, and ignores the huge infrastructure needs we face, as so many bridges and roads are in grave disrepair. If the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee can do its job and pass a bill unanimously, then surely the House can begin to do the work needed to solve this problem — and not kick the can down the road with a totally unrelated and unworkable idea.