TPA Calls for USPS Overhaul After Agency Reports $459M Net Loss

For Immediate Release                                                                             Contact: Abigail Graham: (202) 417-7235

August 10, 2022                                                                                                         

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) slammed the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and called for reforms after the agency posted a $459 million net loss for the third quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2022. The agency has lost more than $90 billion over the past fifteen years and has roughly $200 billion worth of debt and unfunded liabilities. For context, the USPS’ total debt and unfunded liabilities are nearly three times higher than the agency’s annual revenues of $70-80 billion. Losses continue despite Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s plan to slow down a significant percentage of first-class mail.

TPA President David Williams criticized the USPS’ continued lack of fiscal discipline, noting, “during the height of the pandemic, postal leadership assured Congress and the American people that net losses were temporary and America’s mail carrier would soon reverse its sorry status-quo. Despite receiving more than $10 billion from Congress in addition to billions of additional dollars in indirect subsidies, the agency has continued to bleed red ink. The Postmaster General came in with some promising ideas, but is unfortunately doubling down on the erosion of service standards. This approach will only result in more bailouts from taxpayers.

“Unfortunately, Congress has only added to this fiscal calamity by passing ‘reform’ legislation earlier this year that shifts the USPS’ retirement liabilities to the beleaguered Medicare program. Medicare is already projected to run out of money by the end of the decade, but lawmakers are somehow convinced that further burdening Medicare with additional red ink will make the situation better. This is a classic case of kicking the can further down the road instead of devising real solutions to pressing postal problems.

“Postal leadership and Congress must implement real reforms to get the agency back on track. This includes pursuing a non-electrified fleet and ensuring that product pricing reflects underlying delivery costs. Until these priorities are realized, expect further red ink and service slowdowns.” 

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.