The United States Postal Service has announced that it will default on a $5.6 billion payment due this Sunday, but is insisting it's totally Congress's
fault. This is the second time in two months that the agency will
default on a multi-billion dollar payment, bringing total amount they
owe up to $11.1
billion.
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"The key thing is Congress must act during the lame-duck session and get this whole thing behind us," said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe
, referring to the agency's plea for lawmakers to eliminate Saturday
delivery, lower its $5 billion annual payment for retiree health
benefits, and close underutilized post offices and mail sorting
centers. , "The Senate this year passed legislation aimed at fixing the
Postal Service's finances, but the House didn't take up a proposed bill before going on recess until after the November elections."
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The relatively good news for the
Postal Service is that despite the congressional delays and the
agency-record $15 billion in losses this year, they've enacted a series
of retirement incentives and employee reductions that saved them some $2
billion over the past year and lowering costs about as far as they can.
Plus, the election season (lots of mailed in ballots) and the holidays
are on the way. "Absolutely, we would be profitable right now," Donahoe
told the AP, when asked whether congressional delays were to blame for
much of the postal losses. "We can't have a Postal Service where customers are constantly worried about our ability to make payments."
Source : Yahoo News
