US postal service will run out of money by February 2027, says agency chief

Postmaster general David Steiner has called for change to federal law that caps USPS’s borrowing at $15bn

The US Postal Service will run out of funds within a year, unless lawmakers lift a cap on how much money the agency can borrow, according to the postmaster general.

In an interview with the Associated Press, David Steiner warned that the postal service – which relies on stamps and service fees rather than tax dollars to deliver mail six days a week to every address in the country – would run out of cash for employees and vendors by February next year.

The agency has operated with a financial shortfall almost every fiscal year since 2007, as people and businesses have moved toward paperless billing and digital communication, forgoing first-class mail. But mail deliveries have continued, with USPS borrowing money from the US treasury to compensate for losses.

Steiner, who is scheduled to testify before Congress this month, has called for changes to a federal law that caps the agency’s borrowing at $15bn.