U.S. Post Office on the Brink

The Associated Press is reporting Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe warned that the Postal Service is on "the brink of default"...and with no congressional action, a year from now, next August or September, the post office could run out of money to pay salaries and contractors, hampering its ability to operate.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., is quoted as syaing, "We must act quickly. The U.S. Postal Service is not an 18th century relic, it is a 21st century national asset, but times are changing rapidly now and so, too, must the post office."

The Postal Service, which does not receive tax money for its operations, is not seeking federal funds according to the article by  Randolph E. Schmid.

"We do not want taxpayer money," Donahoe said, "We have got to get our finances in order."

Schmid pens, "Instead, postal officials want changes in the way they operate, including relief from the requirement that it prefund medical costs. No other federal agency has to prefund retiree health benefits, but because of the way the federal budget is organized the money counts as income to the government, so eliminating it would make the federal deficit appear larger."

Shown above, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe testifiying before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

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