Executive
Waste of the Day: USPS Spending $9.6 Billion on EVs, but Charging Stations at Risk Of Theft
The United States Postal Service (USPS) spends billions to electrify its last-mile delivery fleet – but thieves can steal the chargers.
Topline: The U.S. Postal Service is investing $9.6 billion in electrifying its delivery fleet, including procuring charging stations.
While the Postal Service completed tests and conducted other performance monitoring of the charging stations, not enough testing was done to safeguard those assets, according to a recent audit from the USPS Office of Inspector General.
Key Facts: The report found that the Postal Service conducted effective contract oversight to verify that charging stations conformed to certain requirements identified in the contracts’ statement of work, and conducted performance monitoring to evaluate the charging stations’ short-term reliability
But it found the USPS didn’t conduct long-term performance monitoring, test with Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, or test the lifespan of the charging stations.
It also found there weren’t effective management controls over the storage of charging stations. “Specifically, facility management did not employ necessary physical safety measures designed to protect and deter the theft of assets.”
Background: The inspector general’s staff wanted to determine whether the Postal Service was effectively testing performance, storing and monitoring charging stations.
They observed testing at Vienna, Virginia, conducted site observations and interviews at the MDC in Kansas; and reviewed related policies and procedures.
Facility management didn’t provide sufficient oversight or resolve security deficiencies in a timely manner, which contributed to the loss of $67,000 in assets, the report found.
The Postal Service is storing and dispersing charging stations from its Material Distribution Center (MDC) in Kansas.
The audit redacts the value of those charging stations that are considered at risk of theft until all the safeguards are implemented.
Critical Quote: “We recommended management take urgent action to finalize and implement the plan for physically safeguarding assets stored at the MDC.”
Summary: If a federal agency is going to spend almost $10 billion on elective vehicles and charging stations, it should do so carefully, and at the very least, ensure they’re not at risk of being stolen.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.
This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.
Adam Andrzejewski (say: Angie-eff-ski) was the CEO/founder of OpenTheBooks.com. Before dedicating his life to public service, Adam co-founded HomePages Directories, a $20 million publishing company (1997-2007). His works have been featured on the BBC, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, C-SPAN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, FOX News, CNN, National Public Radio (NPR), Forbes, Newsweek, and many other national media.
Today, OpenTheBooks.com is the largest private repository of U.S. public-sector spending. Mission: post "every dime, online, in real time." In 2022, OpenTheBooks.com captured nearly all public expenditures in the country, including nearly all disclosed federal government spending; 50 of 50 state checkbooks; and 25 million public employee salary and pension records from 50,000 public bodies across America.
The group's aggressive transparency and forensic auditing of government spending has led to the assembly of grand juries, indictments, and successful prosecutions; congressional briefings, hearings, and subpoenas; Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits; Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports; federal legislation; and much more.
Our Honorary Chairman - In Memoriam is U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, MD.
Andrzejewski's federal oversight work was included in the President's Budget To Congress FY2021. The budget cited his organization by name, bullet-pointed their findings, and footnoted/hyperlinked to their report.
Posted on YouTube, Andrzejewski's presentation, The Depth of the Swamp, at the Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar 2020 in Naples, Florida received 3.8 million views.
Andrzejewski has spoken at the Columbia School of Journalism, Harvard Law School and the law schools at Georgetown and George Washington regarding big data journalism. As a senior policy contributor at Forbes, Adam had nearly 20 million pageviews on 206 published investigations. In 2022, investigative fact-finding on Dr. Fauci's finances led to his cancellation at Forbes.
In 2022, Andrzejewski did 473 live television and radio interviews across broadcast, major cable platforms, and radio shows. Andrzejewski is the author of The Waste of the Day column at Real Clear Policy. The column is syndicated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, owners of nearly 200 ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates across USA.
Andrzejewski passed away in his sleep at his home in in Hinsdale, Illinois, on August 18, 2024. He is survived by his wife Kerry and three daughters. He also served as a lector at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church and finished the Chicago Marathon eight times (PR 3:58.49 in 2022).
Waste of the Day articles published after August 18, 2024 are considered posthumous publications.
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