David Steiner, who became postmaster general in July, said at the postal agency’s board of governors meeting on Friday that financial performance is USPS’ most pressing challenge. In line with past statements backing Delivering for America, he also said that he does not intend to reevaluate former PG Louis DeJoy’s plan to promote the agency’s financial sustainability.
“While we may change specific initiatives as we move forward and our execution needs improvement, I do not see the need for a fundamental reassessment of our processing and logistics modernization strategies at this time,” Steiner said.
Delivering for America generally entails slowing some delivery and increasing the price of certain products. While DeJoy originally predicted USPS would break even by fiscal 2023 under the plan, Chief Financial Officer Luke Grossmann said on Friday that the agency is projected to continue operating at a net loss in fiscal 2026 with only a $900 million improvement.
Steiner and members of the board, which includes individuals appointed by Joe Biden and Donald Trump, contended that putting USPS on firmer financial footing requires legislative and executive actions, including removing restrictions that only allow postal retirement funds to be invested in Treasury securities, adopting private sector best practices in the agency’s workers’ compensation program and raising the $15 billion statutory debt limit for USPS.
