The U.S. Postal Service reported a whopping deficit of $195.2 million for the five months ending Feb. 22 over the $2.5 million it posted last month.
The postal service did not explain the huge gap and did not report a breakdown of volume and income from the different mail classes and services for the current fiscal year. It did say that it would make public those details next week.
The bulk of the deficit occurred within the sixth period of the postal service’s 13 accounting periods, which ran from Jan. 23 to Feb. 22.
Revenue for the period ended Feb. 22 totaled $30.9 billion–$1.4 billion less than the $32.4 billion that was anticipated–compared to $31.1 billion a year earlier.
The report also noted that expenses dropped by $853.7 million to $31.1 million from a shade over an anticipated expenditure of $32 million.
On Wednesday, Postmaster General John E. Potter appeared before the House of Representatives to request nearly $1 billion in appropriations for fiscal year 2003.
Speaking before the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government, Committee on Appropriations, Potter asked for appropriations in three areas: $29 million for revenue forgone reimbursements; $31 million for free mail for the blind and overseas voting materials; and $928 million for the remaining balance of the total authorized amount of the revenue forgone reimbursement. (DIRECT Newsline, March 14, 2002).
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