If a U.S. Post Office is losing money, it’s prohibited by law from closing. Not surprisingly, USPS — which lost $8.5 billion last fiscal year and currently owes the government $12 billion dollars — is pushing for Congress to change that, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Sen. Tom Carper (D., Del.) has introduced legislation that would allow USPS to close a post office simply because it is unprofitable. Currently, USPS must have another reason — such as the retirement of a postmaster — before they can close a location. USPS is reviewing the half of its 32,000 post offices that are regularly running up deficits, but unless Carper’s legislation passes, that review won’t impact the organization’s ability to stop hemorrhaging money.