BURLINGTON, Vt. April 13 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement Friday after President Donald Trump signed an executive order demanding an evaluation of the Postal Service’s finances:

“President Trump is right that it would be useful to take a serious look at the United States Postal Service. He is dead wrong, however, if he believes the ultimate solution is to privatize the Postal Service, which now employs over 630,000 Americans. The reality is that since 2014, the Postal Service has made an operating profit of more than $2.7 billion. The main reason for the financial problems at the Postal Service stems from a 2006 mandate forcing it to pre-fund 75-years of future retiree health benefits to employees who haven’t even been born yet. There is no other private business or government agency that is burdened with such an absurd and draconian requirement. If the Postal Service is going to be a vibrant entity, we must end this Bush-era mandate. We must also allow the Postal Service to raise new revenue by offering innovative new services that the American people need, including basic banking services.”