Virginia lawmakers weigh in on postal service’s looming financial crisis

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) - The clock is ticking on the United States Postal Service.

“We have huge problems at the post office,” Virginia Senator Mark Warner (D) told 8News. 

United States Postmaster General David Steiner told Congress last week that the Postal Service will be “out of cash in less than 12 months” at its current rate. He said if that happens, the Postal Service “will be unable to deliver the mail if we continue the status quo.”

Steiner is telling Congress that several factors, including fewer people using the mail and regulatory challenges, have led to significant financial challenges for the Postal Service. 

“Some of it may be the post office's fault, but a lot of it’s just the fact that the nature of how we send information has changed,” said Warner. 

Steiner said while it’s important to talk about all the things causing the Postal Service’s financial problems, in order for the agency to “survive beyond the next year,” Congress needs to allow the Postal Service to borrow more money. 

Steiner said currently, the Postal Service can’t borrow more than $15 billion, a number that was established decades ago. 

So is raising the borrowing cap something Virginia’s congressional delegation would support?

8News asked Warner and Republican Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) that question, along with whether they would support raising the prices of stamps, although that decision is made by the Postal Service’s Board of Governors and the Postal Regulatory Commission. 

“I want to see the proposal, if they come forward on how we get the post office back on a sound business footing,” Warner said. 

“We want to see exactly how are they gonna reform the system. You can’t just keep throwing money at it and expect that that’s gonna fix it, so I would look forward to a plan from the Postmaster General as to why they would need these dollars,” Wittman told 8News. 

Steiner says raising the cost of a first-class stamp from the current $0.78 to $0.90 to $0.95 would help alleviate some of the Postal Service’s financial problems.