The United States Postal Service is warning it could soon face a financial breaking point, with leaders saying the agency may not be able to continue delivering mail or paying workers within the next year if changes aren’t made.
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Postmaster General David Steiner says the agency is running out of options and is now looking to Congress for help.
The USPS still handles a massive workload, delivering roughly 109 billion items each year to homes and businesses across the country. Even now, it ships about 10 times more packages than competitors like FedEx and UPS combined.
However, as traditional mail declines, so does revenue.
“I like to say that we got thrown overboard and into the water,” Steiner said. “But instead of tossing us a life jacket, we were thrown an anchor.”
The Postal Service has been losing money for years, including a reported $9 billion loss in 2025 alone.
Part of the challenge, officials say, is that USPS is required to deliver mail to every address in the country six days a week, even though about 71% of its delivery routes lose money. At the same time, the agency is heavily regulated, with limits on how much it can charge, how it operates, and even how it manages retirement funding and borrowing.
“We don’t have options. We have mandates,” Steiner said.
Now, he says the country is approaching a critical decision point, whether the Postal Service should continue operating as a government service or shift toward a more business-driven model.
“If you want the same number of delivery days and post offices, we can do that,” Steiner said. “But someone has to pay for it.”
Possible solutions on the table include reducing delivery days or raising prices, though no decisions have been made.
For many Americans, the stakes are personal.
“It’s been something we’ve used forever,” one customer said.
Others say they’re hoping lawmakers step in before it’s too late.
“That’s what the government’s supposed to do, right?” another person said.
The Postmaster General says he’s open to multiple paths forward, but without action from Congress, the future of the Postal Service remains uncertain.
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