By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) – The US Postal Service asked Congress on Tuesday for $2 billion in support and reimbursements as its head warned the agency would be forced to make significant cuts in retail post offices and other reductions unless lawmakers act.
USPS said for the 12 months ending September 30 it had a net loss of $6.5 billion versus a net loss from the prior 12 months of $9 billion.
The new Democratic-led Congress, which takes office in January, will need to decide whether to help the Postal Service after Republicans held a series of hearings over the last two years on its finances. USPS wants $2 billion from Congress for unfunded requirements it has imposed.
The agency has had net losses of more than $120 billion since 2007. The volume of first-class mail, its most profitable product, fell this year to its lowest level since 1965 as consumers have moved to digital communication, while USPS must still pay for costly nationwide delivery.
“We will need to make drastic changes in the number of post offices and marketing mail service levels, and we will need to look at other areas to generate the cash we need to meet our obligations to our employees and to the American public,” Postmaster General David Steiner said at a meeting of the Postal Board of Governors, adding he could also be forced to slow mail delivery and will have fully developed contingency plans by March.
Steiner told Congress earlier this year the agency has a broken business model and needs help from lawmakers to turn around its operations.
In July, USPS raised the price of stamps for mailing a first-class letter to 82 cents from 78 cents as part of a 4.8% hike in mailing costs.
The volume of first-class mail fell by 2.2 billion pieces, or 5.1%, to 39.8 billion pieces in the 12 months ending September 30.
In May, USPS suspended non-essential spending on travel, office supplies and consultants. USPS also earlier this year temporarily suspended employer payments for a federal pension program.
In 2022, Congress provided USPS with $57 billion in financial relief over a decade.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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