Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

U.S. Postal Service Postmaster General David Steiner said on March 4 that the service could run out of cash reserves within a year unless Congress removes a decades-old cap and allows the agency to borrow more money.

If it doesn’t, the service risks not being able to pay employees and vendors as early as February 2027, Steiner told The Associated Press.

“How long are employees going to work and vendors going to show up if we’re not paying them?” he said.

The Postal Service is an independent agency funded mostly by postage revenue and the services it provides, rather than federal appropriations. It reported a $9 billion net loss for fiscal year 2025. In 2024, the agency reported a $9.5 billion net loss.

Operating revenues grew by $916 million, or 1.2 percent, largely due to its Ground Advantage shipping product.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, ending Dec. 31, 2025, the USPS recorded a net loss of about $1.3 billion, in contrast to a $144 million gain in the same period the previous year. Total operating revenues decreased by $264 million, due primarily to reduced mail and package volumes.

Steiner took over the role in July 2025 after heading the nation’s largest waste management firm. He also served on FedEx’s board. He called for broader reforms, including expanding revenue streams.

“We have to have a conversation with the American public,” Steiner said. “If you want us to deliver everywhere, every day, we’ll do it. That’s not a problem. But who is going to pay for it?”

He proposed raising the cost of a first-class stamp from 78 cents to 95 cents, saying it could solve the fiscal issues. A decade ago, stamps cost 47 cents. USPS officials stress that U.S. rates are among the lowest among industrialized nations.

Steiner said the Postal Regulatory Commission wouldn’t allow the adjustment.

“If the Postal Regulatory Commission adopted our pricing model, problem solved,” Steiner said, noting that profitable package operations could stabilize mail services.

Additional reforms entail changing pension and retiree health benefits, and permitting investments beyond Treasury bills. Mail volume has decreased by half from 220 billion pieces annually to about 110 billion, as people increasingly opt for digital alternatives.

“Take those 110 billion and put a 78-cent stamp on them. That’s $86 billion of revenue that evaporated in 15 years,” Steiner said. “If either FedEx or UPS lost $86 billion of revenue, they would have no revenue.”

He said regulatory mandates would not bode well for the agency.

“I like to say we sort of got thrown overboard on a ship into the cold water, right? And instead of throwing us a life preserver, we get thrown an anchor,” he said.

Steiner plans to testify before Congress this month on issues facing the USPS.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.