WASHINGTON, DC — In his remarks to the Board of Governors in May, U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner suggested that the government pay to support universal mail service.
“If we want to continue the Postal Service as a viable entity, policy makers have two options,” the PMG said. “First would be to remove the mandates that ensure the Postal Service loses money: For example, days and levels of service, the ability to close unprofitable offices, and the underpricing of First-Class Mail.”
But, the PMG said that would mean the American public would see reduced levels of service and higher rates.
“The second option is to return to the original intent of Congress when they formed the Postal Service in 1971,” the PMG said. “In 1971, Congress foresaw that the cost of universal service would likely be too much for the Postal Service to cover on its own. That is why they authorized a public service reimbursement to partially offset the costs related to our costly mandates.
The PMG said the Post “will propose that the public service reimbursement be updated to reflect the realities of 2026 and not 1971. In addition, we will propose that we be provided with additional liquidity through changes to our borrowing authority.”
Restructuring review….USPS brought in restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal to evaluate operations, staffing, and potential service reductions.
Rumor has it that Steiner will ask for 30 to 40 billion. He should not get it and likely won’t. The USPS needs to reduce its bloated management ranks significantly and drop Saturday delivery, then we’ll see. By all accounts, management has failed in its core mission with complaints flooding Congress. The USPS has provided no answers to its ongoing delivery issues. Count on being here again unless reforms are initiated.