Washington D.C. – Frontiers of Freedom President George Landrith issued the following statement on the U.S. Postal Service’s latest losses, deteriorating service and the Administration’s opportunity to transform the agency:
This week, the U.S. Postal Service released its financial report for the third quarter of the 2018 fiscal year, which detailed yet another troubling loss of $1.5 billion. Following years of concern around the U.S. Postal Service’s financial woes, their latest loss adds to the $65 billion lost in the past decade and increases the need for reforms.
The need for a taxpayer-funded bailout is growing by the day in order to save the U.S. Postal Service from the financial cliff. This federal agency’s roots extend beyond the founding of the country and the organization is still relied upon for reliable letter mail delivery service across the country. Each quarter that produces greater debt only adds further doubt about USPS’ ability to survive such financial disaster without a bailout.
The Trump Administration’s task force that is looking at the USPS is due to release their report any day now: “The Postal Task Force has a tremendous opportunity to provide recommendations that create the structural changes needed to alter the financial mismanagement that has plagued the USPS. Based on the Postal Service’s reports, market-dominant products like letter mail are generating significant profits, which only means that the debt-drivers are their competitive market products like parcel deliveries. Policymakers have been very critical of e-commerce businesses in recent months for taking advantage of the USPS’ below-market pricing, but the problem is really the Postal Service offering prices for parcel deliveries that simply exceed cost of delivery.”
As Frontier of Freedom notes, the Postal Service’s ability to provide reliable and efficient mail service to all, and especially for those in rural communities, is a significant point of concern. A recent report by the USPS’ regulator found that the Postal Service failed to meet its performance objectives for every single service included within First-Class Mail.
Previous attempts to fix the problems that ail the USPS by postal leadership, policymakers, and regulators have proven insufficient. The Trump Administration’s task force has a remarkable opportunity to propose the actions necessary to set the agency on a sustainable financial path by limiting the USPS lines of service to the products that, at a minimum, can consistently cover their costs.