Watchdog Calls for USPS Reform After $2.5 Billion Net Loss

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

May 9, 2023  

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) took the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to task after the agency reported a $2.5 billion loss for the second quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2023. The agency continues to report significant losses despite the enactment of the 2022 Postal Service Reform Act, which relieved the USPS of about $60 billion in retirement healthcare liabilities and shifted expenses onto the struggling Medicare program. The agency has also spent through most of its $13 billion in federal taxpayer funding appropriated over the past three years. According to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, the USPS is on track to lose an additional $60-70 billion by 2030.

TPA President David Williams criticized the agency for its continued fiscal mismanagement, noting, “the USPS has made one abysmal financial decision after another, with taxpayers and consumers paying the price. America’s mail carrier continues to maintain an overbuilt network weighed down by sky-high labor costs and cross-subsidized lines of business. The agency had an opportunity to turn its fiscal ship around by working together with lawmakers to enact meaningful reforms last year. Instead, it has doubled down on unprofitable post offices, increased reliance on expensive, ‘career’ staffing, and committed to purchasing bank-breaking electric trucks. It’s little wonder that the agency is still losing money despite receiving billions of taxpayer dollars over the past few years.”

Williams continued: “When the Postal Service Reform Act was signed into law last year, the Biden administration and lawmakers heralded a new beginning for the struggling USPS. But, erasing debts with the stroke of a pen won’t make a difference if agency expenses continue to outpace revenues. The USPS’ operating revenue is nearly $80 billion per year, and agency earnings have steadily increased over the past few years. Yet, net annual losses for expenses within management’s control regularly surpass $2 billion. Clearly the agency’s business model isn’t adding up.”

Williams concluded: “The time for excuses and expense-passing is over. The USPS needs to consolidate its network, focus on greater hiring flexibility, and ensure that each product’s revenues are covering costs. Taxpayers cannot be expected to foot the bill for reckless postal policies.” 

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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