newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The U.S. Postal Service pointed at the struggling economy and increased Internet usage as reasons they had lost $5.1 billion in fiscal year 2011.

Previous estimates of the postal service’s losses were around $10 billion, but a $5.5 billion payment to the U.S. Treasury for retiree health benefits, originally due Sept. 30, was deferred by Congress until Nov. 18.

The Blaze reports that postal officials say the USPS will be unable to meet the Friday deadline. The Post Office says it will come dangerously close to running out of money by next September without Congressional aid, forcing it to halt service.

According to The Hill, the Postal Service saw revenues fall from $67.1 billion to $65.7 billion in 2011. The USPS has asked Congress if they can stop Saturday deliveries, but postal unions are strongly against it.

A bill in the House of Representatives would create an oversight board to recommend post office closures and other ideas to cut expenses. The bill does not give the Postal Service access to a $7 billion overpayment into the Federal Employee Retirement Service, which they called a projected surplus.

Seattlepi.com reports that first-class mail volume dropped 5.8 percent in 2011. First class mail normally produces more than half of total revenue for the Postal Service. The post office announced an increase in the cost of first-class mail to 45 cents last month, effective January 22.

Private companies such as FedEx and UPS could handle some of the mail if a shutdown did occur, but those services do not go everywhere.