Cash Crisis: Mail Service on Edge

Postmaster General David Steiner says the United States Postal Service may run out of cash in less than a year, and that warning lands like a warning flare for every taxpayer who has watched Washington spend first and explain later.

Quick Take

USPS reported a **$9 billion** loss in fiscal year 2025 and a **$9.5 billion** loss in 2024.^[9]
Steiner told Congress USPS could exhaust its funds in **less than 12 months** without action.^[2]
USPS says its borrowing cap and shrinking mail volume are part of the problem.^[2]^[6]
Critics say the agency also needs more oversight, not just more money.^[1]^[4]

USPS Warns It Is Near the Edge

Steiner told the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations that the Postal Service is on a short cash runway. CNN reported that he said USPS would exhaust its funds in less than 12 months if Congress does not act.^[2] Other reports say he tied that warning to the agency’s borrowing limit and asked for higher postage rates. He also said the Postal Service could face trouble paying workers and vendors by early 2027.^[1]^[3]

The numbers behind the warning are ugly. USPS reported a net loss of $9 billion in fiscal year 2025 and $9.5 billion in fiscal year 2024.^[9] Reuters and USPS financial results also show that operating revenue rose in 2025, but costs still outpaced income.^[9]^[10] Brookings said USPS ended 2025 with about $8.2 billion in cash, which it said covers roughly 33 days of operation at current spending levels.^[6]

The Structural Problem Behind the Panic

The agency’s core problem is not new. Brookings said USPS has faced yearly operating losses since 2007 and is limited to borrowing from the Treasury up to a $15 billion cap that has been in place since 1992.^[6] The same analysis said USPS can no longer turn to private capital markets, issue bonds, or raise equity like a private firm.^[6] That leaves the Postal Service trapped between falling mail volume and rising costs.

USPS leaders point to the collapse in First-Class Mail and the growth in delivery points as the heart of the mismatch.^[12] Steiner told lawmakers that mail volume has fallen far below past levels, while the network still has to serve nearly every address in America.^[12] He also pushed for a stamp increase, saying higher prices would help cut controllable losses.^[2]^[3] That argument may buy time, but it does not fix the larger model.

Why Critics Say More Cash Is Not Enough

Not everyone buys the Postal Service’s preferred answer. Reuters reported that Steiner ordered non-essential spending cuts, a sign that management is already trying to preserve cash inside the agency.^[4] The same reporting climate also highlights deeper questions about oversight and reform, especially after USPS internal documents reportedly floated changes that critics see as a push for less outside control.^[4] That makes the debate about borrowing authority more than a simple rescue plan.

This – is Anti Democratic under the false guise of election protection: Postmaster General David Steiner told senators that, under a new proposed rule, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will not deliver mail ballots unless states hand over their voter lists to Trump.

— crowsfeet (@crowsfeet98) June 24, 2026

Critics also point to USPS pricing and service decisions as part of the problem. One union-linked report said USPS suspended employer retirement contributions to preserve cash, which shows how the shortfall can shift pain onto workers instead of forcing discipline at the top.^[5] From a conservative view, that matters. A government agency with a monopoly on key services should not expect endless bailouts without hard proof that management can live within reality, protect service, and respect the taxpayer.^[5]^[6]

What Congress Is Really Deciding

Congress now faces a familiar choice: give USPS more borrowing room, demand sharper reforms, or do both. Steiner’s case is that immediate liquidity relief is needed to avoid a service breakdown.^[2]^[12] Brookings and other analysts say the agency’s structure still leaves it exposed, even if lawmakers raise the cap.^[6] That is why the real question is not whether USPS is short on cash. It is whether Washington will keep patching a broken model instead of forcing accountability.