Postmaster Warns: USPS Cash Crunch Could Halt Treasure Coast Mail by October

The U.S. Postal Service could run out of money to pay workers and vendors as soon as October and may be forced to halt mail deliveries entirely, Postmaster General David Steiner warned lawmakers Tuesday at a House Oversight subcommittee hearing.

Steiner, who joined USPS last July, said the agency's financial collapse could come between October 2025 and February 2027, depending on whether it continues defaulting on pension and retiree benefit obligations. USPS closed fiscal year 2025 with a net loss of nine billion dollars and posted its fourth consecutive quarterly loss — one point three billion dollars — after the December holiday shipping season. The agency has already borrowed the maximum fifteen billion dollars allowed under federal law, exhausting its credit line with the U.S. Treasury.

For Treasure Coast households, a USPS shutdown would mean disruption of prescription drug deliveries, federal benefit checks and business mail for tens of thousands of residents across Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties — rural and suburban routes that private carriers have historically been slower to serve. Small businesses and retirees who rely heavily on mail-order services would face the sharpest disruptions.

Steiner is calling on Congress to raise the agency's borrowing cap, unchanged since 1992, allow postage price increases beyond current limits and restructure retiree benefit obligations. A Government Accountability Office official, David Marroni, testified alongside Steiner that congressional action is unavoidable. "I do think that congressional action is going to be needed based on our work," Marroni told the subcommittee. Subcommittee Chair Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) signaled commitment to acting but said he opposes raising the price of a first-class stamp from 78 cents to one dollar. "The postmaster general laid it on our doorstep, and we're not going to kick the can down the road," Sessions said.

The subcommittee has not announced a timeline for legislation, and the Trump administration's earlier push to fold USPS into the Commerce Department has largely stalled. President Trump this month named three new nominees to the agency's board of governors, whose seats are currently held by Biden-era appointees.

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