Postal Rate Increase Denied

The Postal Service may be unable to continue to meet a statutory 10-year payment schedule - averaging roughly $5.5 billion per year - to create a fund to pay future retiree health benefit premiums. lt has been unable to fund this obligation from operations, and has instead used up all of its retained earnings and drawn down from its $15 billion borrowing authority. Even with the requested increase, the Postal Service would be unable to meet this annual obligation either in 2011, or in succeeding years.