A U.S. Postal Service (USPS) post office stands near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California on February 5, 2025.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | getty images
US Postal ServiceCiting “severe financial distress”, on Thursday it announced a proposed set of price increases across its mail products, which would include a four percent increase on first class mail. forever stamps.
If approved, the increase will reach the first tier stamp Cost 82 cents, effective July 12.
Agency proposal to Postal Regulatory Commission If approved, the cost of sending letters and postcards will increase by 4.8%.
The proposal comes just weeks after the Postal Service proposed imposing an 8% fuel surcharge for package and express mail delivery to help offset its dire financial situation as well as rising fuel costs amid the Iran war.
The USPS said Thursday that “the Postal Service faces a serious financial crisis and operating costs continue to rise.”
“The Postal Service is using all available tools, including available regulatory pricing authority, to ensure we can continue to meet our universal service obligation and serve the American public,” the agency said in a statement. Press release.
agency also Said It will suspend the employer’s contribution Federal Employees Retirement System Annuitants will be able to continue making payroll, paying suppliers and delivering mail.
Postmaster General David Steiner in March told House Oversight Committee At current spending levels, the USPS will run out of cash “in less than 12 months.”
Despite being a federal entity, the Postal Service does not receive tax dollars and instead relies on the sale of its products and services to finance operations.
The steep decline in mail volume contributed to the financial crisis. Steiner said at a hearing in March that the Postal Service has seen mail volume decline by more than 104 billion per year since 2006, the equivalent of about $81 billion at the current stamp price of 78 cents.