USPS needs reforms from Congress, such as higher stamp prices and the ability to borrow more money, the postmaster general told lawmakers.
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) might run out of funds by October or November, the head of the agency told Congress on March 17.
In a House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations hearing, U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner said the USPS needed reforms from Congress, otherwise the agency could be out of money if it continues making required retirement and other payments to the government.
“We’re in a crisis,” Steiner said.
Among the reforms the postmaster general addressed, he said the USPS needs higher prices on stamps and the ability to borrow more money. He said that if the postal service defaults on some payments, as it has done in recent years, it will still be out of money in less than a year.
“If we stretch those out, we’re looking at more like February,” Steiner told lawmakers.
He also outlined steps the agency could take to cut costs.
Those steps included reducing deliveries to five days a week, closing some post offices, and raising the price of first-class mail stamps to close to $1. Currently, that price is $0.78.
“When you have less than 12 months of cash available, you have to look at everything,” Steiner said.
By reducing deliveries to only five days out of the week, USPS could save about $3 billion a year, the postmaster general said on March 17. Closing small offices in rural areas would save $840 million, he said, but these steps “may not be palatable to Congress or the American public.”
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), who served as chairman for the hearing, told Steiner he will work with the agency to address concerns. However, Sessions said he does not support raising the prices on stamps.
“We’re going to have to make tough decisions,” Sessions said.
The top Democrat on the subcommittee, Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), agreed that reforms were needed. He said that Congress cannot “do nothing and watch the Titanic sink.”
“We cannot let the U.S. Postal Service die,” Mfume said at the hearing.
Steiner told The Associated Press earlier this month that USPS will run out of funds without congressional action. At that time, he also stressed the importance of raising first-class stamp prices, claiming it could solve the fiscal issues facing the agency.
By Troy Myers
