Obama Administration Develops USPS Rescue Plan

The Obama Administration is borrowing ideas from both sides of the aisle in an attempt to save the United States Postal Service from financial ruin.

The administration released a 2016 budget blueprint earlier this month that calls for major healthcare and other structural changes to help stymie the flood of red ink that is overshadowing the agency’s long-term financial future.

Whether Republicans, who control the legislative branch, take up the measures is not known. Both Republicans and Democrats have proposed bills to prevent the agency’s financial ruin. However, it’s been all talk and no action for the most part.

The president’s proposal claims it will save the USPS $36 billion over 11 years, according to FierceGovernment. This will be partly achieved by cutting Saturday delivery, which the administration suggests should happen when annual mail volume falls to 140 billion parcels.

The president also proposed allowing the USPS to defer prefunding its healthcare system, which has been the subject of contentious discussion on Capitol Hill among lawmakers and USPS leadership.

In addition, the administration wants to give USPS executives more authority to make critical business decisions rather than having to seek approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission.

“We have a lot of momentum as an organization today despite our financial challenges. We continue to take prudent steps to bring our costs and revenues into better alignment,” said Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan in a statement. “However, the way we are structured today and the way we serve the public today will not be adequate to fully meet the demands of tomorrow’s marketplace. To be successful in the future, we will continually reorient our business strategies to better connect with our customers and redefine the ways we serve the American public.”