PMG Says Postal Service Finds Itself in Dire Financial Straits

‘DIRE FINANCIAL STRAITS’
PMG TELLS SENATE PANEL HELP IS NEEDED

PMG Pat Donahoe yesterday told a Senate subcommittee that despite significant cost cutting and revenue generation, the Postal Service finds itself in dire financial straits.

Statutorily mandated payments due to the government Sept. 30 will not be paid, he said, unless Congress acts to refund overpayments of pension funding or eases the mandate to prefund retiree health benefits.

“As things stand, we do not have the cash to make a $5.5 billion prepayment for future retiree health benefits due Sept. 30,” said Donahoe. “Despite our significant role in the American economy and our aggressive cost-cutting and revenue-generating efforts, I regret to say we are in a serious financial predicament today.”

The Postal Service has paid more than $20.9 billion into the Retiree Health Benefit Trust Fund since its inception in 2006. Under current law, the Postal Service is scheduled to continue making annual payments of $5.5 billion to $5.8 billion through 2016.

Donahoe told the subcommittee that USPS can return to profitability with the right legislation, and — if given flexibility — “can continue to serve the American public very effectively and continue to sustain and propel American commerce.”

Also yesterday, Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), the subcommittee chairman, introduced a bill that addresses the financial issues confronting the Postal Service. Among other provisions, the proposal authorizes a transition to a 5-day delivery schedule, a move that could lead to annual savings of $3.1 billion.

3 Responses to "PMG Says Postal Service Finds Itself in Dire Financial Straits"

  1. So in the Seattle District, management will not bring in an ODL Carrier on the non-sched day unless all the ODL Carriers on regularly scheduled days are worked up to 12 hours…So management will pay 3, 4, 5 ODLers 2 hours each of regular overtime and 2 hours each of penalty overtime before authorizing an ODLer on his SDO at teh regular overtime break. Dire financial straits? Did the guy who thought this one up get a bonus for this moronic idea?

  2. “The Postal Service “finds” itself in dire straits”??? He makes it sound like it just happened accidentally out of nowhere. They’ve been doing all the wrong things to cut costs, and ignoring the real wasteful spending. We can’t save our service as long as Congress keeps enableing HQ’s crooks.

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