With the prospect of running out of money by fall 2026 looming, the watchdog for the U.S. Postal Service recently laid out how the agency could partner with other government departments to expand access to services and shore up its finances.
“Although the additional revenue government services may yield is uncertain, they could contribute to the bottom line and meaningfully advance USPS’s role as essential public service infrastructure,” the USPS inspector general wrote.
For example, investigators highlighted that USPS could expand the number of facilities providing FBI biometric identity verification services (e.g. taking of fingerprints). They reported that roughly 30.4 million people, 9% of the U.S. population, live more than an hour away from a post office offering these services, which can be needed for employment or international travel background checks.
The OIG also emphasized an ongoing pilot program between USPS and a private company to offer TSA PreCheck enrollments and renewals at post offices.
“If the Postal Service was able to work with the TSA to provide the service at the 1,250 postal locations already equipped with biometric hardware, USPS would improve access for applicants, in particular in rural areas where private vendors lack a physical presence,” investigators wrote.
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