The U.S. Postal Service, which is expected to post a $200 million profit in September when its fiscal year ends, stands to lose $6.7 million in federal funding.
Last week the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a $29.7 billion Treasury, Postal and General Government appropriations bill (S-1282), that reduces last year’s USPS $100.1 million allocation to $93.4 million. The rest of the money goes to the U.S. Treasury Department, which includes the Internal Revenue Service and the White House.
The USPS, which had no comment on the panel’s recommendation, receives the money each year to recoup some of the costs associated with handling free and reduced-rate mail, and to help it recover some of the money it lost in previous years’ processing. Items falling under the free and reduced-rate category include no-cost government mailings and the mailings of nonprofit charities, which by law, pay lower than regular rates.
Although the measure has been placed on the Senate’s general calendar for consideration, a date for a vote that would send the measure to the House for consideration has not been set.
Of the $93.4 million appropriation the panel recommended, the USPS would get $70.8 million, or $6.4 million less than last year, toward its costs of providing free mail for the blind and for overseas voters, and $29 million to recover money lost in previous years to process that mail.
The appropriations bill, sponsored by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO), also includes provisions prohibiting the USPS from using any of the money to aid skip-tracers in locating parents behind on child or family support. Other provisions require the USPS to consolidate or close small rural post offices; help the U.S. and Hawaii agriculture departments block the introduction of plant and animal pests by mail in to the state; and consider honoring the Lewis and Clark Expedition with a commemorative stamp.
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