US Postal Service expects to run out of cash in a year without help from Congress, postmaster says

"If it doesn't, the Postal Service might not be able to pay its employees or vendors by February 2027, with potentially dire consequences for mail delivery, Postmaster General David Steiner told The Associated Press. 'How long are employees going to work and vendors going to show up if we're not paying them?' Steiner said in an interview on Wednesday."

"The Postal Service is an independent agency that is funded mostly through postage revenue and the services it provides. Steiner said it has all the burdens of a government agency, such as having to deliver mail six days a week to every address, but none of the benefits, such as an annual appropriation from the federal budget."

"He singled out the $15 billion cap on borrowing that has been in place since 1990. Steiner, a former CEO of the nation's largest waste management company and a former member of the FedEx board of directors, took over the struggling Postal Service last July. He said raising the borrowing limit is the easiest thing lawmakers can do immediately to help the agency."

Postmaster General David Steiner warns the Postal Service faces imminent financial crisis without congressional action to increase borrowing limits. The agency operates as an independent entity funded primarily through postage revenue and services, yet maintains government obligations like six-day-a-week mail delivery to all addresses without federal budget appropriations. Steiner, a former waste management CEO and FedEx board member, identifies the $15 billion borrowing cap from 1990 as a critical constraint. He advocates for raising this limit as an immediate solution while pursuing longer-term fixes including expanded revenue streams through last-mile delivery services to additional entities. Without intervention, the Postal Service may lack funds to compensate employees and vendors within months.

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