The U.S. Postal Service has wasted millions of dollars in sports sponsorships despite a corporate loss of $675 million last year, the Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) charged on Tuesday. The group was particularly critical of payouts by the USPS for the U.S. Cycling team featuring Lance Armstrong. The recent $40 million sponsorship contract with the team “does not include the costs associated with sending postal executives and their spouses on junkets to the Tour De France as they have done in the past,” said Leslie K. Paige, director of special projects for CAGW, in a statement. Paige continued that the USPS offers “no verifiable evidence” that these sponsorships raise brand awareness in Europe while generating $19 million in annual revenue. “The USPS is a government-owned monopoly and does not need to spend money on brand advertising,” Paige continued. “In its current fiscal crisis, it cannot rationalize sponsorships of any kind.” Relying on data from the USPS Office of Inspector General, CAGW reviewed 11 sponsorships paid for by the USPS between 1996 and 2002. These sponsorships cost a total of $48 million, and most lacked clear objectives, the group claimed. According to CAGW, the USPS has eliminated 200 sponsorships since 1998, leaving only five as of last October.
