Latest news with #Oshkosh
New York Post
20 hours ago
- Automotive
- New York Post
Biden push for $10B electric mail delivery fleet flops with just 250 trucks built in two years
WASHINGTON — A Biden administration plan to create a 'green' fleet of postal vehicles has churned out just 250 electric mail trucks in just over two years — after shelling out taxpayer funds meant to build thousands — leaving Republicans raging at the multibillion-dollar 'boondoggle.' The nearly $10 billion project — which called for more than 35,000 battery-powered US Postal Service (USPS) vehicles to be completed by September 2028 — was funded in part by $3 billion in funding from former President Joe Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. As of this month, the project is well behind schedule despite taxpayers forking over $1.7 billion — prompting Capitol Hill Republicans to try to rescind the remaining nearly $1.3 billion earmarked from the IRA. 'Biden's multi-billion-dollar EV fleet for the USPS is lost in the mail and more than $1 billion is postmarked to order more,' Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) told The Post. 'I am working to cancel the order and return the money to the sender, the American people. The rescissions package is a great start, but Congress must keep its foot on the pedal and make DOGE a lifestyle by stamping out waste like this on a regular basis.' 6 A Biden administration plan to create a green fleet of postal vehicles has built only 250 electric mail trucks in more than two years, amounting to a multibillion-dollar 'boondoggle,' Republicans said. Business Wire The move comes after former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy stepped down earlier this year, passing off the agency's EV embarrassment to his successor, David Steiner, whose new job became official Monday. Wisconsin-based Oshkosh, a defense contractor, agreed to be paid $2.6 billion by the USPS to provide the 35,000 vehicles — but the Washington Post reported late last year that just 93 battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) were ready by November 2024, even though 3,000 were expected by that date. Oshkosh's mail truck production has struggled to clear a number of engineering hurdles, including issues with airbag calibration and during leak testing, which resulted in 'water [pouring] out as if [the vehicles'] oversize windows had been left open in a storm.' A senior executive at Oshkosh attempted to alert USPS about the production problems in 2022, but was blocked by their superiors. 'This is the bottom line: We don't know how to make a damn truck,' one person involved with the manufacturing process told the Washington Post. Michigan-based Morgan Olson, a previous contractual partner of USPS, had tried and failed to win the bid to produce the BEVs in February 2024. During a meeting between DeJoy, postal officials and Morgan Olson executives, the postmaster general lamented the status of 'a production plant in South Carolina,' apparently referring to the Oshkosh truck manufacturing facility, a source who attended the meeting revealed to The Post. 6 The nearly $10 billion project included $3 billion in funding from former President Joe Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to electrify the agency's fleet. Getty Images But DeJoy later added that he was 'in the parcel delivery business, not the vehicle manufacturing business,' the source continued. At the time, Oshkosh's Spartanburg factory could produce just one mail truck per day, with company records showing that they had expected to be producing upwards of 80 vehicles on a daily basis. The cost per truck to the defense contractor was pegged at $77.692 for 28,195 electric vehicles, according to The Washington Post. In December 2023, USPS put out a call for vehicle suppliers that could provide 'at least 12,000 battery-electric' mail trucks by October 2025, along with 'at least 1,500 internal combustion engine' trucks starting in October 2024. 6 A rep for Oshkosh referred comments to USPS but confirmed the manufacturer still has an active contract with the agency for electric vehicles. USPS OIG A rep for Oshkosh referred questions to USPS but confirmed the manufacturer still has an active contract with the agency for electric vehicles. 'Modernization of the Postal Service's delivery fleet is part of the organization's $40 billion investment strategy to upgrade and improve the USPS processing, transportation, and delivery networks,' a USPS spokesperson said. 'The Postal Service has placed orders for 51,500 next generation delivery vehicles (NGDVs), of which 35,000 are Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV). More than 1,000 NGDVs have been received to date, of which more than 250 are BEV,' the rep added. 'Additionally, the Postal Service has ordered 9,250 Ford E-Transit electric vehicles, of which nearly 8,000 have been received. Deployment continues to expand to sites across the country in accordance with the rollout of our new delivery network.' 6 Ex-Postmaster General Louis DeJoy admitted he was 'in the parcel delivery business, not the vehicle manufacturing business,' according to a source. AP 6 USPS's Grumman Long Life Vehicles are expensive to maintain, loud, fuel-inefficient, and have been known at times to burst into flame. CJ GUNTHER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The Biden administration had been committed USPS to acquiring '100% electric' postal vehicles starting in 2026, but it remains to be seen whether Republicans will withdraw the funding for the green fleet project. The transition of USPS vehicles to electric power from gas vehicles — a central pillar of Biden's environmental agenda — has been stalled almost from the outset. Expert estimates project that the broader set of environmental provisions included in the Inflation Reduction Act could cost taxpayers upwards of $1 trillion during the decade following the bill's passage. The new, predominantly electric vehicles are meant to replace the antiquated fleet of Grumman Long Life Vehicles, which date to 1987 and are expensive to maintain, loud, fuel-inefficient, and have been known at times to burst into flame. 6 The transition of USPS vehicles over to electric power from gas-powered vehicles — a central pillar of Biden's environmental agenda — has been at a near standstill from the outset. AP The miniscule number of vehicles that have been produced by Oshkosh are also a small fraction of the 60,000 total 'Next Generation Delivery Vehicles,' powered by a mix of battery-electric and other energy sources, that USPS is set to purchase from the firm. The Government Accountability Office, a non-partisan taxpayer accountability agency, identified USPS in a February 2025 report as having 'high risk' financial viability because the agency 'still cannot fully fund its current level of services and financial obligations.' In recent months, Trump has floated the possibility of merging USPS with the Department of Commerce, citing USPS losses of an astonishing $9.5 billion in fiscal year 2024. '[USPS has] been just a tremendous loser for this country, tremendous amounts of money they've lost,' the president told reporters in February. 'We want to have a post office that works well and doesn't lose massive amounts of money, and we're thinking about doing that, and will be a form of a merger, but it'll remain the Postal Service, and I think it'll operate a lot better than it has been over the years.' With the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States Post Office by the Second Continental Congress approaching on July 26, the newly-appointed Steiner will inherit the tall task of modernizing USPS while its EV program continues to tread water.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man stabbed to death at Oshkosh's Menominee Park after large fight, teen arrested
OSHKOSH, Wis. (WFRV) – Authorities launched a homicide investigation after a man was found stabbed to death near Oshkosh's Menominee Park on Saturday night. Officers with the Oshkosh Police Department say the stabbing happened inside Menominee Park in the 1200 block of East Irving Avenue in Oshkosh. Man flown to hospital with life-threatening injuries after head-on collision in Outagamie County Around 11 p.m. on July 5, officers were initially called to a crash in the 900 block of East Irving Avenue, where they found a man with multiple stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Further investigation revealed a fight taking place between 'several' people who were at Menominee Park. Officers say that is when the fight escalated, leading to the man being stabbed. The Fond du Lac Police Department later helped to arrest a 19-year-old man from Fond du Lac for first-degree intentional homicide. Firework goes off in basement of Sheboygan County home, one injured Anyone with relevant information on the deadly stabbing is asked to contact Detective Krueger at the Oshkosh Police Department at (920) 236-5700. Local 5 will provide an update to this story when more details are released. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Yahoo
Oshkosh police investigating a homicide after finding stabbed body near Menominee Park
The Oshkosh Police Department is investigating a homicide after finding a deceased male who had suffered multiple stab wounds on July 5. A 19-year-old man from Fond Du Lac has been taken into jail for first degree intentional homicide in connection with the person's death, according to information released by police on July 6. According to Oshkosh police, officers were dispatched to a car accident at the 900 block of E. Irving Ave. around 11 p.m. on Saturday. Once police arrived, they found the adult male driver deceased with multiple stab wounds. According to police, the stabbing is connected to a "physical altercation" between several people at nearby Menominee Park. The situation escalated and "resulted in one adult male being stabbed," according to the police news release from July 6. Menominee Park is less than a mile away from the location where the body was found. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago in Oshkosh. Cleo Krejci covers K-12 education and workforce development as a Report For America corps member based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at CKrejci@ or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information about Report for America, visit This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Body found stabbed near Menominee Park in Oshkosh, police say
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Yahoo
1 dies in fatal stabbing at Menominee Park in Oshkosh, Fond du Lac man in custody
OSHKOSH – A 19-year-old Fond du Lac man is in custody after police say a man was the victim of a fatal stabbing inside Menominee Park Saturday night. Oshkosh Police Department said officers were dispatched to a car crash in the 900 block of East Irving Avenue at around 11 p.m. July 5. When they arrived, they found the driver had suffered multiple stab wounds and was deceased. Police said further investigation revealed a physical altercation had occurred between several individuals inside Menominee Park in the 1200 block of East Irving Avenue. That altercation, according to police, escalated and resulted in the man being stabbed. Read more: Oshkosh police arrest 49-year-old man after methamphetamine seized in searches of two residences A 19-year-old Fond du Lac man, whose name was not released, was taken to jail on suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide. Anyone with information about the incident can contact Detective Krueger at the Oshkosh Police Department at 920-236-5700 or remain anonymous by reporting tips to Winnebago County Crime Stoppers at 920-231-8477 or through the P3 app. Contact Brandon Reid at breid@ This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Stabbing death at Menominee Park in Oshkosh: Fond du Lac man arrested
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Oshkosh Defense receives $167 million order from US Army for Heavy Tactical Vehicles
OSHKOSH – Oshkosh Defense has received another order from the U.S. Army to build 225 trucks and 54 trailers for $167 million under the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles contract. According to a news release from the Oshkosh Corp. subsidiary, the order includes HEMTT A4 variants and Pelletized Load System A2 that will help support the National Guard, Reserve, and the Program Executive Office Missiles and Space. Read more: US Air National Guard to be highlighted at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 'Through our valued partnership with the U.S. Army, we are proud to support the critical role of the National Guard and Reserve forces and enable the integration of next-generation defense capabilities,' Oshkosh Defense Chief Programs Officer Pat Williams said. 'These orders demonstrate the versatility of the FHTV fleet to fill diverse mission sets across all Army components and underscores Oshkosh's ability to deliver scalable, mission-ready solutions,' Williams added. The news follows a recent $95 million order from U.S. Army Contracting Command – Detroit Arsenal for the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles. Read more: Winnebago County tourism, driven by EAA & XRoads41, generated record-setting $574M in 2024 Oshkosh Defense also signed a three-year contract extension with the U.S. Army last month to continue building Medium Tactical Vehicles A2. That announcement came days after it was revealed Oshkosh Corporation offered temporary three-month layoffs to 51 union members to address overstaffing following what the company called 'the planned drawdown' in production of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles. Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@ and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville. This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Oshkosh Defense nets $167M order for US Army Heavy Tactical Vehicles
