The Postal Service will run out of cash within a year, Postmaster General warns: ‘We have to have a conversation with the American public’ | Fortune

The U.S. Postal Service could run out of cash within a year unless Congress lifts the $15 billion borrowing cap set in 1990, Postmaster General David Steiner said. The warning centers on a federal statutory constraint that limits an independent agency’s ability to maintain operations absent annual appropriations. If the cap is not raised, the Postal Service may be unable to pay employees or vendors by February 2027, threatening nationwide mail delivery.

<p>Postmaster General David Steiner said the U.S. Postal Service will run out of cash within a year unless Congress raises the agency’s borrowing limit above the $15 billion cap established in 1990. He said that without additional borrowing authority, the Postal Service might be unable to pay employees or vendors by February 2027, raising operational risks for mail delivery.</p><p>Steiner is scheduled to testify before Congress later this month on the Postal Service’s financial condition and on rules he says constrain the agency. He described the Postal Service as funded mostly through postage and services while also being required to deliver six days a week to every address. He said the agency needs authority to raise postage prices to cover losses, proposing a first-class stamp price of 95 cents from the current 78 cents, and said the Postal Regulatory Commission will not adopt the model he favors. He also called for changes to pension and retiree health benefit obligations and for expanding last-mile delivery revenue.</p>