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A $250,000 outlay by the U.S. Postal Service to relocate two top financial officers closer to their jobs has rankled at least one member of Congress and sparked an investigation by the USPS Inspector General.

The officers are CFO M. Richard Porras and vice president of finance John Ward.

A report Friday by The Washington Post said the USPS spent $142,311 to move Porras 10 miles farther from headquarters, but closer to the service's training facility in Potomac and Dulles International Airport. Ward's 30-mile move. which cost $105,817, puts him three miles from the L'Enfant Plaza headquarters in downtown Washington, cutting his commute from two hours to 10 minutes.

House postal subcommittee chairman Rep. John McHugh (R-NY) asked Inspector General Karla Corcoran to review the expense and to report the findings within 30 days.

Eager to read Corcoran's report, House Majority Leader Richard Armey (R-TX) said in a statement that the postal service's action was "ridiculous" and that "this kind of waste and abuse of taxpayer money undermines the public's trust and confidence in government. Taxpayers expect the post office to deliver mail, not employee's furniture."

In a statement defending the action as a way for the USPS to "recruit and retain highly qualified executives," Postmaster General William Henderson said the "decision to provide benefits to these individuals was reviewed at the time from both a legal and ethical standpoint, and was found to be consistent with our policies, which establish benefit programs comparable to those in the private sector."

Both officers are career postal employees, Porras earns $151,800 annually and Ward is paid $145,000.

"Reports like this raise questions about the postal service's management priorities," said a clearly annoyed Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN), chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee which shares oversight authority over the USPS with McHugh's panel.

"The postal service needs to take a long, hard look at its management and compensation practices if it is to justify increasing stamp prices while making hundreds of thousands of dollars in relocation and other benefits available to a select few executives," he said.

Einar V. Dyhrkopp, who chairs the postal service's Board of Governors, was unaware of the money spent but said he plans to investigate.

Under existing rules, the USPS pays to relocate promoted employees and executives who move more than 50 miles for a new job, at a cost of between $80,000 and $95,000.