Tom Coburn

Our current method of stopgap, crisis governing is no way to run a government or a business let alone a Nation of our size and stature.

The Constitution says that you have to give an account for what you spend, and unfortunately the Pentagon cannot.

To achieve a long-term solution to our fiscal problems we need to do three things.

The fact that we would not process a nominee that is important and vital to establishing what we need at OMB seems to me like you are shooting at your own feet.

It takes a certain amount of courage and patriotism to give up a very well-paying job to come and do service for your country.

It is not just the Postal Service that is wrestling with health care costs, right?

Yes, I would just note for the record, according to Congressional Research Service (CRS), 25 percent of private companies prefund their retirement health care.

Your injured workers have tripled, with third-party billing and medication.

When Part B was started, it was to be a 50-50 payment differential between the participant and the government. We are at 25 percent.

I just had one more, and I wanted to hear your response to one of the comments Dr. Baker made about getting a better return on the funds that we have today.

But I would also tell you, in the private sector nobody stays on workers' comp in the private sector at retirement age. They go to the retirement.

So that includes the management costs of the health plans that run this program.

Senator Johnson has raised the concerns, about this unfunded liability's impact on Medicare, and I understand why we would want to look at the whole picture.

What we have to do is, as Senator Carper said, how are we going to look at all these pieces and try to come up with something that gives us long-term viability of the Postal Service, and that is the real issue.

But you would testify that your concerns would be much alleviated if it was inside versus outside.

We have to give them the capability to handle those costs in a more efficient way.

Postal employees today are subsidizing the rest of the Federal workforce.

Let me just caution you. The Segal report has revisionist history in it in terms of what the deal was in 1983...

If you include employee health benefits, the benefit package for the average employee of the Postal Service, excluding management, is $35,000 a year.

If you do not like what is in this bill and you want to solve the problem, you cannot just complain about what is in the bill. You have to come with an alternative solution that accomplishes the same goals.

This differential is in the difference of what the post office could buy the exact same coverage with a wrap-around... there is no question we add to the liability of the Medicare program.

All right. Thank you very much.

I would just urge you to keep those up.

What Senator Carper and I are trying to do is balance both the pricing and the cost.

Well, but what they are--I guess the point I am trying to make is, right now, the cost to have your business is a half-a-billion dollar loss.