The Postal Service is bleeding cash, but the DOGE can stop the hemorrhaging

<p><a href="https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/the-postal-service-is-bleeding-cash-but-the-doge-can-stop-the-hemorrhaging">The Postal Service is bleeding cash, but the DOGE can stop the hemorrhaging</a></p>

<p>Blaze Media</p>

<p>Ross Marchand | March 22, 2025</p>

<p>The Department of Government Efficiency is teaming up with the U.S. Postal Service, and it’s a good thing. Last week, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/usps-signs-agreement-with-elon-musks-doge-team-assistance-2025-03-13/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told Congress</a> he had reached an agreement with the DOGE to root out inefficiencies and help the service address “big problems” — most of which are financial. As an initial cost-cutting gesture, the USPS is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/13/usps-signs-agreement-with-elon-musks-doge-team-for-assistance.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reducing its workforce</a> by 10,000 through a voluntary early retirement program.</p>

<p>The DOGE certainly has its work cut out for it. The USPS <a href="https://www.govexec.com/management/2024/11/usps-loses-95b-fy24-and-says-another-red-year-coming/401077/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">lost</a> an astounding $9.5 billion in fiscal year 2024 and is projected to lose an additional $60 billion to $70 billion by 2030. However, most of this spending is wasteful — not essential — which positions the service, through proper reforms, to recover and once again deliver for taxpayers and consumers.</p>

<p>This agreement is a financial disaster. EV deliveries are already&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/12/11/biden-usps-ev-oshkosh-climate/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">behind schedule</a>, and according to DeJoy, taxpayers and consumers are&nbsp;<a href="https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2024-12-10/us-postal-service-chief-defends-plan-to-buy-rising-number-of-evs" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">paying anywhere</a>&nbsp;from $10,000 to $20,000 more per EV than for their gas-powered counterparts — and even that may be an underestimate.</p>

<p>In 2022, Congress&nbsp;<a href="https://www.uspsoig.gov/focus-areas/focus-on/electric-vehicles-and-infrastructure" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">appropriated for the USPS $3 billion</a>&nbsp;in taxpayer dollars for EV purchases, including $1.29 billion for vehicles and $1.71 billion for charging infrastructure.</p>

<p>When factoring in this one-time subsidy and the Postal Service’s own investment, switching to an all-gas fleet could save nearly $1 billion annually over the next decade. Fortunately, Oshkosh appears open to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ttnews.com/articles/oshkosh-usps-shift-gas-ev" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">renegotiating the contract</a>.</p>

<p>If Oshkosh doesn’t play ball, however, lawmakers may step in. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) have introduced the “<a href="https://www.ernst.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/return_to_sender_act.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Return to Sender Act</a>” to recoup taxpayer money wasted on these EV purchases.</p>

<p>Ending Saturday mail deliveries is another straightforward way to cut costs. The USPS currently delivers mail Monday through Saturday, with <a href="https://naps.org/post/Is-Sunday-Delivery-Really-Worth-It" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">some packages delivered on Sundays</a>. Shifting to a five-day delivery schedule could reduce costs and improve worker morale. The USPS itself proposed this change in its 2013 “<a href="https://about.usps.com/strategic-planning/fiveyearplan-04162013-final.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Five-Year Business Plan</a>,” estimating savings of $1.9 billion per year — roughly $2.6 billion today after adjusting for inflation — amounting to about one-third of the service’s average annual losses in recent years.</p>

<p>Beyond these major cuts, the USPS continues to waste money in baffling ways.</p>

<p>The service has ventured into television production, premiering a show called “<a href="https://news.usps.com/2024/11/22/dear-santa-the-series-is-back-with-new-episodes/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Dear Santa, The Series</a>” in 2022. This isn’t even its first attempt at TV. The USPS also produced “The Inspectors,” a show that struggled with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4711356/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">mediocre ratings</a>. While the costs of these productions remain unclear, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance Foundation plans to file Freedom of Information Act requests to uncover the figures.</p>

<p>TPAF will also investigate the USPS’ suspicious — and increasingly bleeding — check-cashing and money-order operations in addition to the agency’s public relations spending on gratuitous programs like its&nbsp;<a href="https://about.usps.com/news/statements/111616.htm" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">thin-skinned responses to op-eds</a>&nbsp;and an&nbsp;<a href="https://usps-mailin-it.simplecast.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">official podcast</a>.</p>

<p>Small cuts, combined with more significant reforms, add up. In all, the USPS can save more than<a href="https://www.protectingtaxpayers.org/postal-reform/memo-to-doge-postal-reform-can-save-taxpayers-7-billion-annually/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">&nbsp;$7 billion per year</a>&nbsp;with a few common-sense spending cuts. It’s time for the DOGE to start trimming the fat.</p>
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