Trending Now - USPS Warns of Potential Cash Shortfall Within a Year

WHO:

David Steiner, Postmaster General of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)

U.S. Postal Service (USPS), an independent agency

Congress, U.S. legislative body

Keep Us Posted, an advocacy group

WHAT:

USPS expects to run out of cash by February 2027 without Congressional aid.

USPS net losses for the fiscal year 2025 totaled $9 billion.

Total operating revenue for USPS increased by $916 million (1.2%) in fiscal year 2025.

Net losses for fiscal year 2024 were $9.5 billion.

Proposed increase of first-class stamp price from 78 cents to 95 cents to address fiscal issues.

USPS has seen annual mail volume decrease from approximately 220 billion pieces to about 110 billion pieces.

WHERE:

United States

WHEN:

David Steiner took over as Postmaster General in July 2025.

Steiner is scheduled to testify before Congress later in March 2026.

The Postal Service Reform Act was passed in 2022.

WHY:

USPS is facing financial struggles due to a decades-old $15 billion cap on borrowing, which has been in place since 1990.

The agency has all the burdens of a government agency but lacks benefits like federal budget appropriations.

The decline in mail volume is attributed to increased online communication and bill payments.

HOW:

Steiner suggests raising the borrowing limit as an immediate solution to help USPS.

Calls for expanding USPS's revenue base, including extending last-mile delivery services.

Advocates for reforms to pension and retiree health benefit obligations, including investment options beyond Treasury bills.

Criticism of costly mandates imposed by regulators and Congress.

QUOTES:

“How long are employees going to work and vendors going to show up if we’re not paying them?” - David Steiner

“If you want us to deliver everywhere, every day, we’ll do it. That’s not a problem. But who is going to pay for it?” - David Steiner

“That will buy us the time to make the fixes we need to make, and we can sail on down the road.” - David Steiner

“Take those 110 billion and put a 78-cent stamp on them. That’s $86 billion of revenue that evaporated in 15 years.” - David Steiner

“I like to say we sort of got thrown overboard on a ship into the cold water, right? And instead of throwing us a life preserver, we get thrown an anchor.” - David Steiner

David Steiner, the Postmaster General of the U.S. Postal Service, has warned that the agency expects to run out of cash by February 2027 without assistance from Congress, following net losses of $9 billion in fiscal year 2025. Steiner, who took over in July 2025, is set to testify before Congress later this month, where he will discuss the need to raise the borrowing limit and expand revenue sources to address the Postal Service's ongoing financial struggles. He emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, “How long are employees going to work and vendors going to show up if we’re not paying them?”