To compensate for growing losses Brennan is asking for $25 billion in federal grants, further $25 billion to upgrade aging infrastructure, $14 billion to pay off long-term debt connected to a retirement benefits program and on top of that $25 billion in unrestricted borrowing authority. The total bill is $89 billion.
While it's an immense amount of funding, it's not far out of proportion with what was approved in the first stimulus bill, which gave the Trump administration $500 billion in bailout spending with no strings attached. But that same administration is refusing to accept a bailout of USPS. It was already supposed to be part of the first stimulus bill, at $13 billion needed to cover immediate losses, but was removed by the administration.
As things stand, Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin is offering a loan of $10 billion, which is now being discussed with the Postal Service. But even if conditions are satisfying for both sides, this won't even cover this year's expected shortfall. Which might not end with the current estimates as hundreds of postal workers are being diagnosed with COVID-19 and the agency failing to mitigate the virus spreading.
Debate around the Postal Service has been subject to a partisan divide for decades. Democrats are in favour of preserving the institution, arguing that no private provider would secure nationwide coverage, seeing some rural areas as just too costly to service. Republicans on the other hand, with the Trump administration included, are willing to force the organisation into privatisation. Even though many Republican politicians rely on votes from those remote areas that depend on the Postal Service.
