USPS: COVID-19 is having a “devastating effect on our business”
The U.S. Postal Service is requesting access to $75 billion through a combination of cash, grants and loans to avoid a liquidity crisis this Autumn, reports Government Executive.
Postmaster General Megan Brennan told committee members in a virtual briefing on Thursday that USPS will “run out of cash this fiscal year” without further financial assistance.
Brennan said that USPS now expects a $13 billion revenue loss tied “directly to COVID-19” this fiscal year. Over the next 18 months, that loss would approach $22 billion and would exceed $54 billion within the next decade, “threatening our ability to operate.”
“We are at a critical juncture in the life of the Postal Service. At a time when America needs the Postal Service more than ever, the reason we are so needed is having a devastating effect on our business,” Brennan said.
“The Postal Service relies on the sale of postal products and services to fund our operations, and these sales are plummeting as a result of the pandemic. The sudden drop in mail volumes, our most profitable revenue stream, is steep and may never fully recover.
“I want to commend the brave men and women of the Postal Service for all they are doing in the midst of this pandemic,” said Carolyn Maloney, the oversight committee’s chairwoman, after receiving a briefing from Brennan on Thursday. “The Postal Service is holding on for dear life, and unless Congress and the White House provide meaningful relief in the next stimulus bill, the Postal Service could cease to exist.”
