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U.S. Postal Service Faces Possible Shutdown; $5B Payment Deadline ApproachesCongress is being asked to change a number of laws that could help the Postal Service get out of debt and hopefully become profitable.Related Content
A deadline is looming for the U.S. Postal Service—it’s a five billion dollar payment that is due by the end of the month. The Postmaster General says if his agency doesn’t get its finances straightened out soon, it may have to shut its doors by this winter.
Congress is being asked to change a number of laws that could help the Postal Service get out of debt and hopefully become profitable. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, is a member of a committee that will examine the issue in Washington D.C., on Tuesday. Begich says some simple law changes could help. He gave the example of not allowing the post office to deliver alcohol. “If you were buying a bottle of wine and you want to ship it to a friend as a gift, you couldn’t do it through the U.S. Post Office (Postal Service),” says Begich. “You can do it through any other method of shipping except the U.S. Post Office because it's not allowed by legislation, which is insane.” The Postal Service has lost close to $20 billion in the last four years, but Begich says that hemorrhage doesn’t have to continue if the Postal Service were allowed to operate more independently. He says allowing the service to handle its employee pension and retirement funds in the same way that private businesses do would also go a long way toward saving money. But some problems may be harder to fix, particularly the fact that the Post Office receives no federal tax dollars to operate. Its finances come from the people who use its services and that number is going down. Still, here in Alaska, the Post Office is a lifeline for many rural families who depend on it for all matter of goods from groceries to medications. Begich says it may make sense to close some post offices in the Lower 48 that are literally within a mile of each other, but not so much in Alaska where post offices aren’t always connected by roads. He says the list of possible closures for the state has dropped from over 20 locations originally to less than ten. |
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Marky said on Wednesday, Sep 7 at 8:45 PM
Well we are used to Begich not saying anything smart, par for the course.
73524081Mark Crownheart said on Wednesday, Sep 7 at 2:07 PM
I agree with jjj. AFIRMATIVE ACTION killed the post office! I never in my entire life witnessed so much violence and hate because of this useless LAW. And this is a LAW?? Try that in Japan or Germany!!
73509962Akwolf said on Wednesday, Sep 7 at 10:29 AM
Let see we bail out Banks, Mortgage lenders, basically any big business in America, why well because they pay the goverment. The goverment can not pay itself. Crazy, this counrty has gone to s@9t in last 12 years. Time to migrate somewhere else.
73499357dk said on Tuesday, Sep 6 at 2:50 PM
In Alaska we need our post office when that is our only way to get our food mail medicine go from one town to another people I don't think that the management of the postal service is run right if so they would have seen this a long time ago and fixed it come on lets get real who screwed up not the workers real real
7346060724char said on Tuesday, Sep 6 at 1:00 PM
It would not make the Postal Service any money to start shipping booze. We would only end up subsidizing the cost of shipping by AIR to the villages when they only pay for SURFACE (parcel post). If they want deliveries by air they should pay the air mail rates, not the parcel post rates. We already pay for them to get their grocery's by air and they pay parcel post, shipping booze, there favorite thing, will only put the USPS further in the hole.
73455788gee money said on Tuesday, Sep 6 at 11:56 AM
get rid of the union and maybe you will find employees that you dont need to drive stakes to see if there moving!!!
73452424jjj said on Tuesday, Sep 6 at 11:41 AM
AFIRMATIVE ACTION killed the post office! This is what happens when you hire people based on SKIN COLOR rather than QUALIFICATIONS! Every person created equally, What a JOKE!
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