Senator Carper Statement on U.S. Postal Service Financial Losses

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released a statement following the announcement that the U.S. Postal Service reported a net loss of $586 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2015:

“Today’s financial report highlights the Postal Service’s best efforts and ongoing challenges to sustain and maximize its unique 200-year-old distribution network. Despite its efforts, the Postal Service’s longstanding financial and legislative burdens coupled with an ongoing decline in the volume of First Class mail make this American institution’s existing business model unsustainable and its future uncertain. Today’s news underscores that the only way to alleviate the Postal Service’s financial challenges and preserve its opportunity to grow in the digital age is for Congress to pass comprehensive postal reform legislation. Though the current financial state of the Postal Service is better than past financial reports, continued losses of this kind do little to bring the Postal Service out of its fiscal quagmire. I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress, the Administration, and stakeholders to fix the serious, but solvable challenges facing the Postal Service.”

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