It has been a great year for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). But it is now pushing the Biden Administration hard for another $14 billion on top of $120 billion in taxpayer funds it has received since December 2020. By law, USPS is supposed to be self-supporting.
At issue is a large but arcane request from USPS to have its Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension obligations readjusted so it receives a $14 billion credit from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). This pertains to benefits for postal employees before 1971.
This matter has already been extensively examined by Congress, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), and OPM. It was vetted in conjunction with the development of and passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, the last major postal legislation before this year’s Postal Service Reform Act.
In an October 2011 report for Congressional Committees overseeing USPS, the GAO stepped in on the USPS-OPM dispute, siding with OPM.