Watchdog Group Slams Postal Service After $6.5 Billion Net Loss

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) blasted the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) after the agency posted a $6.5 billion net loss. The beleaguered agency has lost more than $100 billion over the past fifteen years, and even repeated bailouts by Congress have failed to slow the pace of USPS losses. America’s mail carrier has responded to recent losses by hiking postage rates 4 times over the past 2 years. In October, the USPS filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission to hike the price of First-Class Mail Forever stamps yet again, from 66 cents to 68 cents.

TPA President David Williams slammed the USPS for gross mismanagement, noting: “For way too long taxpayers and consumers have had to deal with an endless merry-go-round of price hikes, out-of-control spending, and taxpayer bailouts. All the stamp price increases in the world can’t paper over profligate spending at the USPS, and it certainly won’t make consumers’ lives any easier. And, to make matters even worse, the struggling agency has decided to replace a majority of its fleet with expensive electric vehicles. Taxpayers and consumers deserve cost-effective mail trucks that deliver the mail on time, not bank-breaking boondoggles that blow out mid-route.”

Williams continued: “The Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 was supposed to herald the beginning of a new, more fiscally responsible USPS. Instead, it achieved the opposite. By wiping the slate clean on $60 billion worth of unpaid bills, Congress gave the agency a blank check to waste taxpayer dollars with zero accountability and consequences. This irresponsible fiscal culture has led to a bloated U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) squandering $500 million in taxpayer funding per year while doing little to curb surging mail thefts. According to a recent Inspector General report, the USPIS has yet to develop a comprehensive plan to end rampant theft and restore trust in the mail. There needs to be consequences for postal bureaucrats neglecting their basic responsibilities.”

Williams concluded: “Postal reform is long overdue. America’s mail carrier can get back on track with affordable mail trucks, targeted law enforcement spending, and pricing adjustments to reflect delivery costs. It’s time to end the sorry status-quo. Congress and the President need to address this now before more taxpayer money is squandered.”

###

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.