USPS Faces $9 Billion Loss Again, Pushes for Major Reforms and New Price Hikes
USPS Faces $9 Billion Loss: The United States Postal Service (USPS) has reported a $9 billion annual loss, only slightly better than last year’s $9.5 billion deficit, prompting the agency to call for sweeping administrative and legislative reforms.
New Postmaster General David Steiner said USPS continues to struggle with a ‘significant systemic annual revenue and cost imbalance’ and must accelerate efficiency efforts to stabilize operations. He emphasized that the agency needs “new revenue opportunities” and public policy changes to fix its long-standing financial issues.
Despite receiving a $50 billion congressional financial package in 2022 and undergoing multiple restructuring phases, USPS has accumulated over $100 billion in losses since 2007. To address its challenges, the agency is seeking reforms such as adjusting retiree pension funding rules, diversifying pension investments, raising the statutory borrowing limit, and modernizing workers’ compensation processes.
Alongside reform demands, USPS has proposed new price increases across several services excluding first-class mail. The plan includes-
- 6.6% hike for Priority Mail
- 5.1% for Priority Mail Express
- 7.8% for USPS Ground Advantage
- 6% for Parcel Select
This comes as the cost of a first-class stamp rose to 78 cents this year, up from 73 cents, a 46% increase since 2019.
Political tensions around USPS continue to rise. In February, President Donald Trump criticized the agency, calling it a “tremendous loser for this country” and suggested shifting it under the Commerce Department, a move Democrats argued would violate federal law. Earlier in March, former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy resigned under White House pressure after implementing operational changes that reduced the agency’s 10-year projected losses from $160 billion to $80 billion.
USPS mail volumes dropped 5% in the fiscal year ending September 30, hitting their lowest point since 1967, a clear sign of the ongoing decline in traditional mail demand. The agency, which employs 635,000 workers, also cut 10,000 positions this year through a voluntary retirement program to curb costs.
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