The Post Office’s chief says if something doesn’t change, it will run out of money in a year, affecting your mail.
Postmaster General David Steiner told a House oversight committee recently the problem is its universal service obligation.
That’s a rule that requires the Postal Service to deliver mail to any U.S. address for the same price, no matter how difficult it is to reach.
You may not get Christmas cards this year. Or bills. Or junk mail.
Without Congress doing something, the USPS won’t stop home deliveries, at least not every day.
To manage rising costs, officials say they are considering two options: reducing the number of delivery days, possibly dropping Saturdays, or increasing the price of first-class postage to nearly $1.
Steiner said without change, it’s possible no one will receive mail.
“The Postal Service is at a critical juncture. At our current rate, we’ll be out of cash in less than 12 months. So in about a year from now, the Postal Service would be unable to deliver the mail,” said Steiner.
The Postal Service hasn’t turned a profit since 2007.
It may also be losing one of its biggest partners: Amazon.
The retail giant is reportedly planning to scale back the number of packages it sends through USPS after the two sides failed to reach a new contract.