The U.S. Postal Service told Congress in mid-March that its cash position is nearing a breaking point. Postmaster General David Steiner said the agency would run out of cash in less than 12 months at its current burn rate and could be forced to stop delivering mail. When lawmakers asked for a more precise timeline, Steiner said USPS could exhaust its funds as early as October 2026 if it pays all obligations on schedule, or by February 2027 if some payments continue to be deferred.
Losses have piled up for years
USPS lost $9 billion in the last fiscal year, $9.5 billion in 2024, and another $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2026 alone. The agency has recorded annual losses in almost every year since 2007. The central problem is clear: traditional mail volumes have fallen by nearly 50% over the past 20 years. USPS does not receive tax dollars for operating costs, relying instead on stamps and service fees, while email, texting, and online payments have cut deeply into letter mail and check delivery.
Package volume is also under pressure. Amazon, the agency’s largest package customer, has said it plans to reduce the volume it sends through USPS by as much as two-thirds by September. That leaves the Postal Service facing weakness in both of its major revenue streams.
A pension-payment suspension buys time, not a fix
USPS has already taken one unilateral step to preserve cash: suspending contributions to the Federal Employees Retirement System. Federal News Network reported that this move could free up to $15 billion by delaying required pension payments through September 2030. The Postal Regulatory Commission granted a waiver to allow the deferral. It relieves near-term pressure. It does not solve the underlying business model.
What USPS wants from Congress
Steiner’s request has three parts: raise the agency’s borrowing limit with the Treasury Department so it can access more capital, loosen pricing restrictions by removing the current once-a-year rate increase cap imposed through 2030, and give USPS more flexibility around its universal service obligation. The agency is also studying tougher operating options, including reducing delivery from six days to five or even three days a week, closing post offices, and lifting the price of a first-class stamp from the current 78 cents to $1 or more.
Republican committee members pushed back, questioning whether USPS had exhausted internal cost-cutting options before seeking broader authority. Committee chair James Comer pointed to the 2022 Postal Service Reform Act, which he said had already saved USPS a total of $107 billion in costs.
Mail-order medicine and rural areas are first in line for disruption
The fallout from a cash failure would reach well beyond delayed letters. About 6% of diabetes prescriptions in the U.S. are delivered by mail. Roughly 3.7 million Medicare enrollees live in areas with limited pharmacy access and depend on postal delivery for medications. Rural communities would face heavier exposure if service is reduced, because USPS is legally required to provide the same delivery service to them as it does in urban areas. A Government Accountability Office report released alongside Steiner’s testimony called the USPS business model “unsustainable” and said “urgent action” is needed.
A crowded federal agenda complicates any rescue bill
The report said the 2026 federal legislative calendar is already under strain from the Iran war, CLARITY Act negotiations, and midterm positioning, leaving any USPS rescue package to compete for limited floor time. Steiner’s message to lawmakers was blunt: if USPS cannot meet its obligations, including prescription drug deliveries, “The mail will stop.” That would extend beyond postal operations into areas that still depend on physical delivery of checks, financial documents, and regulatory notices.