Testimony of

Robert G. Taub

Chairman

On behalf of the 

Postal Regulatory Commission

Before the

U.S. House Oversight & Government Reform Committee 

February 7, 2017
1

Introduction

Chairman Chaffetz, Ranking Member Cummings, and members of the 

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, good morning. My name is Robert 

G. Taub. I am the Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission (Commission). I am 

pleased to testify before you today.

Background

The Commission is an independent federal agency that is responsible for 

ensuring transparency and accountability of the U.S. Postal Service’s operations and 

finances. Today, the Postal Service is a $71 billion operation with more than 600,000 

employees. It is not quasi government, quasi private, or quasi anything – it is 100

percent part of the Federal Government, operating as an independent establishment in 

the Executive Branch. Yet the Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating 

expenses and relies completely on the sale of postage, products, and services to fund 

its operations.

As a separate and independent federal regulatory agency, the Commission 

determines the legality of the Postal Service’s prices and products, adjudicates

complaints and fair competition issues, and oversees the Postal Service’s delivery 

performance consistent with statutory requirements. Its mission is to ensure 

transparency and accountability of the Postal Service and foster a vital and efficient 

universal mail system. The Commission is the regulator, not the operator, of our nation’s 

Postal Service – we do not manage the Postal Service, we regulate it. The Commission

is composed of five Commissioners, each appointed by the President and confirmed by 
2

the Senate. The Commission receives an annual appropriation from Congress out of the 

Postal Service Fund.

Why a regulator for another government agency? Unlike almost any other federal 

agency, the Postal Service operates in a commercial marketplace while also having a 

large contingent of captive customers given the Postal Service’s market dominance for 

certain products and services. The Postal Service is provided a statutory monopoly over 

mailboxes and the delivery of letters. The public interest role of a regulator in this case

is clear: a need to protect the captive customers and ensure fair competition.

The Commission carries out this work with a very small budget and staff. Its

current year appropriation is $15.2 million to regulate the $71 billion Postal Service. The 

David and Goliath analogy is sometimes apt. Despite a steadily increasing and complex

workload, until this year, the Commission's annual appropriation had always been less 

than what it received in Fiscal Year (FY) 2008. FY 2008 was the last year that the 

Commission received its funds directly from the Postal Service rather than through the 

appropriations process. The Commission’s budget in FY 2008 was $14.985 million for 

an authorized complement of 70 employees; 8 years later, the Commission's 

appropriation in FY 2016 was $15.2 million for an employee complement of 77. The FY

2016 appropriation of $15.2 million depicts the first marginal increase in 8 years above 

the FY 2008 level. The majority of the Commission’s FY 2016 budget was allocated to

pay and benefits ($10.7 million) with the remainder allocated for operating expenses 

($4.5 million). This marginal increase in funding has allowed the Commission to begin 

filling deferred vacancies and funding previously deferred IT Infrastructure and 
3

cybersecurity initiatives. The Commission has also prioritized its limited resources to 

ensure we have the necessary funding for completion of the 10 year rate review study.

Commission Focus on Postal Service Financing

Commission rules require the Postal Service to file several reports with the 

Commission regarding financial results on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. The 

Commission staff internally analyzes these reports. Prior to 2014, the Commission’s

Annual Compliance Determination (ACD) included a chapter on the overall financial 

health of the Postal Service. However, because the ACD is focused on rates and 

service performance, it did not include a detailed analysis of other financial data 

provided in the Postal Service’s Annual Compliance Report as well as its Securities and 

Exchange Commission equivalent Form 10-K filing. In 2014, the Commission developed 

a separate Financial Analysis report to provide greater clarity and transparency of the 

Postal Service’s financial data and trends.

This year, the Commission will publish its fourth annual Financial Analysis report 

which not only reviews the overall financial position of the Postal Service, but also 

analyzes volumes, revenues, and costs of both Market Dominant and Competitive 

products. The report includes a chapter that analyzes the Postal Service’s financial 

status in terms of profitability, solvency, activity, and financial stability using accounting 

ratios. I would like to highlight our preliminary observations and conclusions that will be 

reported in the Commission’s FY 2016 Financial Analysis report.
4

Overview of USPS Finances: Liabilities Outstrip Assets Resulting in Low Liquidity

In FY 2016, the Postal Service had a total net loss of $5.6 billion, which is a $531 

million deterioration from FY 2015. This decade of consecutive net losses posted since 

FY 2007 has increased the cumulative net deficit since FY 2007 to $62.3 billion. These 

continuing losses have significantly affected the financial position of the Postal Service 

by negatively impacting liquidity, requiring the Postal Service to use all of its $15 billion 

statutory borrowing capacity, and causing total net liabilities to far exceed total net 

assets.

In FY 2016, total revenue increased by $2.6 billion. Market Dominant revenue 

decreased by $0.7 billion while Competitive products revenue increased by $2.1 billion. 

A change in accounting estimate related to Forever Stamps resulted in an additional 

$1.1 billion in revenue.1 Competitive product volumes continued to increase 

significantly in FY 2016, growing 14 percent over last year. This higher volume coupled 

with a Competitive product price increase (effective January 17, 2016) contributed to the 

increase in total revenue. Total Market Dominant revenue declined 1.5 percent from the 

prior year. CPI based price increases were not enough to offset declining volumes and 

the expiration of the exigent surcharge.2The exigent surcharge generated $1.1 billion in 

revenue in the first 6 months of the fiscal year before its expiration in April. 

 

1

Deferred revenue was increased to record omitted revenue from a recalculation of Forever Stamp usage included in Postage in 

the Hands of the Public (PIHOP) during the past years.

2

This surcharge was permitted by the Commission after it found that the Postal Service had justified the recovery of additional 

contribution by showing a causal link between the extraordinary or exceptional circumstances of the Great Recession and mail 

volume losses.
5

Total expenses increased 4.2 percent or $3.1 billion in FY 2016. This increase is 

largely a result of higher overall compensation and benefits costs of $1.5 billion and an 

increase in workers’ compensation expense of $0.9 billion. Compensation and benefits 

costs as a percent of total expenses remained the same as in the prior year at 78.6 

percent. Compensation accounts for the largest portion of personnel expenses, 

representing 60.6 percent of total personnel costs. Retirement benefits are the next 

largest component of total personnel expenses at over 26.3 percent. Retirement 

benefits are comprised of statutory payments to the Postal Service Retiree Health 

Benefits Fund (PSRHBF), retiree health benefits premiums, employer contributions to 

the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) and the Civil Service Retirement 

System (CSRS) pensions and Social Security. The current premiums for annuitant 

health benefits along with the statutory prefunding PSRHBF payments account for 15.2 

percent of total retirement related expenses.
6

Percentage Breakdown of Total Personnel Expenses, FY 2016

An increase in workhours (the second consecutive increase since FY 2005) and 

the number of career employees (the second consecutive increase since FY 1999) 

increased compensation expenses by $0.7 billion. Retirement expenses also increased 

due to an increase in the FERS annuity rate from 13.2 percent of base pay to 13.7

percent of base pay and a supplemental payment to the FERS fund. Other benefits 

costs such as the current year premiums for retiree health benefits and the payment to 

the Department of Labor for workers’ compensation costs also contributed to the 

increase in compensation and benefits. The $0.9 billion increase in workers’ 

compensation expense was due to actuarial changes in the development of the 

Compensation

60.6%

Health 

Benefits

8.2%

Other

0.5%

Workers' 

Compensation

4.4%

Retirement

11.1%

Retiree Health 

Benefit Premiums

5.5%

RHB Accrual

9.7%

Retirement Related

26.3%

Breakdown
7

estimate and changes in the discount rate. Non-personnel expenses, including 

transportation, increased in FY 2016. Further data on personnel related costs are 

detailed later in this testimony.

In the face of financial losses, over the past decade, the Postal Service has 

reduced the size of its workforce by about 175,000 career employees, cut labor related 

costs, and increased its productivity. Today the Postal Service delivers roughly the 

same volume of mail that it delivered in 1987, but with almost 160,000 fewer total 

employees. Yet even with these sizeable reductions, the Postal Service does not have 

the cash to pay down its debt or fully invest much needed capital in its operations.

The significant gap between the Postal Service’s net current assets and net 

current liabilities is of particular concern. The Commission finds that despite an 

improvement in liquidity during FY 2016, current assets, consisting mostly of cash and 

cash equivalents, continue to be insufficient to meet the payment of current liabilities. 

$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

$ in Millions

Fiscal Years

Postal Service Current Assets and 

Current Liabilities

Current Assets Current Liabilities
8

In FY 2016, total current liquid assets increased by $1.5 billion from FY 2015;

however, the amount of current liabilities rose by $5.7 billion, worsening the overall 

financial situation. Most of the increase in the current liabilities is due to the fact that the 

Postal Service did not make the $5.8 billion final statutory payment required in FY 2016

to the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund (PSRHBF). The total net current 

assets were $9.5 billion at the end of FY 2016, of which $8.3 billion was cash and cash 

equivalents. Net current liabilities at the end of this fiscal year were $54.6 billion, which

included $33.9 billion in missed payments to the PSRHBF (the payments scheduled for 

FY 2011 through FY 2016). Also included in net current liabilities is $10.1 billion of the 

total $15 billion owed to the Federal Financing Bank. Further data on the PSRHBF are 

detailed later in this testimony in the additional information on personnel related costs.

These low liquidity levels in recent years have impeded the Postal Service’s 

ability to make capital investments in infrastructure and hindered the growth and 

productivity enhancements in key assets required for primary postal operations. As the 

Postal Service noted in the FY 2016 Form 10-K statement, it now operates an aging 

vehicle fleet, increasing the need, and consequently the cost, for maintenance and 

repair. Also unmet is the need to invest in sorting and handling equipment to fully 

capitalize on business opportunities in the growing package delivery markets.

According to the Postal Service’s FY 2016 Form 10-K statement, “If our 

operations do not generate the liquidity we require, we may be forced to reduce, delay 

or cancel investments in technology, facilities, and/or transportation equipment, as we 

have done in the recent past.... Additionally, our aging facilities, equipment and 

transportation fleet could inhibit our ability to be competitive in the marketplace, deliver 
9

a high-quality service and meet the needs of the American public.... An aging or 

potentially obsolete infrastructure could result in loss of business and increased costs.”

On an operational basis the Postal Service’s net income (i.e., before including 

the statutory prefunding accruals to the PSRHBF, any non-cash adjustments to workers’

compensation liability, supplemental contribution to FERS Annuity and the adjustment

for postage related to Forever Stamps for prior year usage) is $610 million. Most of this 

operational net income can be attributed to an increase in revenues from the Market

Dominant and Competitive products rate increases, the exigent price surcharge on

Market Dominant products, and the continuing growth in Competitive products parcels. 

The exigent surcharge, effective for the first 6 months of the fiscal year, increased 

revenue by an estimated $1.1 billion. The temporary surcharge was removed on 

April 10, 2016.

 -

 2,000

 4,000

 6,000

 8,000

 10,000

 12,000

 14,000

 16,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

$ in Millions

Analysis of Available Liquidity

Cash Uncapped Available Debt Total Liquidity (Cash + Avail. Debt)
10

The increase in operating net income enabled the Postal Service to improve its 

liquidity position. Compared to FY 2015, the Postal Service increased its cash position 

by $1.4 billion. This increase in cash enables the Postal Service to begin planning for 

replacement of its capital assets, primarily delivery vehicles, and package sorting 

equipment. Yet, as noted, this increase is overshadowed by the increase in current 

liabilities, primarily due to the inability of the Postal Service to make the statutorily 

required pre-funding payments into the PSRHBF. Overall, according to the Postal 

Service, it has approximately 30 days of cash available to pay basic operating 

expenses. This consists only of available cash as the Postal Service has reached the 

statutory borrowing limit. The current level of Postal Service reported liquidity has 

improved since its low point in FY 2012, but total cash on hand plus total debt is almost

half of what was available 10 years ago.

If a downturn in the economy or other circumstance should further stress the 

Postal Service’s cash flow, it risks not being able to pay some of its bills and could, in a 

worst case scenario, run out of cash. 

Analyzing Postal Service Financial Status: Profitability, Solvency, Activity, and 

Financial Stability

The Commission’s Financial Analysis report uses “ratio analysis” to measure the 

profitability, solvency, and financial stability of the Postal Service. As detailed in the 

Commission’s Financial Analysis reports, ratio analysis is used to conduct a quantitative 

analysis of information in a financial statement. Ratios are calculated from current fiscal 
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year numbers and are then compared with previous years and historic averages to 

determine the Postal Service’s financial performance.

The ratios explain the Postal Service’s financial health and provide valuable 

insight into its past performance. The financial data used in the ratio analysis is derived

from accounting information not adjusted for inflation, changing demographics, industry 

dynamics, or government regulations. Financial analysis used in the private sector may 

not be directly relevant to government agencies because revenue streams, equity 

structures, and management incentives differ. It is also difficult to determine a single 

measurement that signifies financial health for a government agency. Financial 

performance, although not a primary indicator of success, influences the fulfillment of 

missions and objectives for government agencies with a service-related mission, such 

as the Postal Service.

Some of the ratios calculated by the Commission for FY 2016 show a slight 

improvement compared to the previous year with the majority deviating greatly from the 

average of the last 10 years. The Commission’s Financial Analysis report calculates 

“liquidity-related ratios” as well as “key ratios” related to sustainability.

Liquidity-related ratios are one of the most widespread indicators of an agency’s 

solvency. Calculated using the Postal Service’s financial results for FY 2016, they show 

an improvement over the prior year with values close to the historic 10-year average. 

The following table details the three liquidity-related ratios:
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Ratio Analysis of Postal Service Financial Statements

The improved liquidity-related ratios are largely a result of the increased cash on 

hand held by the Postal Service after exhausting its borrowing capacity. The Postal 

Service’s working capital remains a negative value of $45.1 billion, deteriorating by $4.1

billion from the prior year. This means that the increase in current liabilities largely due 

to the missed retiree health benefit statutory prefunding payment of $5.8 billion 

significantly exceeded the growth in current assets, 92 percent of which is cash on 

hand.

The Commission’s Financial Analysis report assesses three key ratios for Postal 

Service sustainability as detailed in the following table. Ratios for the current fiscal year 

as seen in the debt ratio and the current liability ratio have deteriorated compared to the 

prior year and the historic average for the past 10 years. 
13

Ratio Analysis of Postal Service Financial Statements

The accruing nonpayment into the statutory retiree health benefit fund and the 

long-term workers’ compensation obligations have artificially skewed the Postal 

Service’s current liabilities in relation to its assets. To reduce its debt ratio to historic

averages, the Postal Service would have to significantly increase its current cash 

position or investments in capital assets and reduce its obligations to the PSRHBF. 

The Postal Service’s fixed assets to net worth ratio shows an insignificant 

improvement reflecting the slight increase in capital spending. However, the value still 

remains at negative 0.27, a result of recurring net losses accumulated over the last 

decade. A negative fixed assets to net worth ratio indicates the erosion through 

depreciation of the entity’s long term tangible business assets, a critical investment for a 

viable entity.

The current liability ratio reflects the Postal Service’s share of short term liabilities 

to total liabilities at 67 percent, increasing a percentage point from the start of FY 2015. 

The accrual of the unpaid statutory PSRHBF prefunding payments is included in current 

obligations, accounting for the increase in current liabilities. An increasing current 

liability ratio indicates increasing obligations due to be paid within the current year. 

Ratios

9/30/2016 

Value

9/30/2015 

Value Change Description of Ratio 

Postal Service Historic 10 Year 

Average Value

Debt Ratio (debt to assets ratio) 3.22 3.10 0.12

This ratio is calculated by dividing total liabilities (i.e. 

long-term and short-term liabilities) by total assets. It 

shows how much the company relies on debt to finance 

assets. 1.88

Fixed Assets to Net Worth Ratio (0.27) (0.31) 0.04

This ratio indicates the extent to which the entity's cash 

is frozen in the form of fixed assets, such as property, 

plant, and equipment. 0.21

Current Liability Ratio 0.67 0.66 0.02

This ratio is calculated by dividing current liabilities by 

total (i.e. current and noncurrent) liabilities. 0.55
14

Understanding the Postal Service’s liabilities is critical, especially as the cash flows 

generated from operations render the Postal Service unable to meet its current 

obligations. 

Evaluating Financial Strength: Altman Z-Score

The Commission’s Financial Analysis report also uses a financial analysis 

evaluating an agency’s financial strength, defined as the Altman Z-Score, to calculate

the possibility of bankruptcy. The users, stakeholders, and the business environment 

vary between the Federal Government and the private sector. Stakeholders of private 

sector entities use financial analysis to make investment and credit decisions, and 

success is often measured by the company’s stock valuation. In contrast, Federal

agencies are mission-oriented and measure success through the provision of service. 

Furthermore, unlike private sector firms, Federal agencies do not have direct 

shareholders whose income and wealth is affected by management decisions.

Financial analysis can be useful in both the Federal Government and the private 

sector. It can be used as a strategic management tool that provides the public with a 

concise and systematic way to organize the data in financial statements (e.g., balance 

sheets, income statements, and statements of cash flows) into meaningful information. 

The information derived from these indicators would provide the data needed to 

evaluate an agency’s financial condition.

Financial viability is affected by a combination of environmental, economic, and 

organizational factors, including the decisions and actions of management and the 

governing board. For example, the decline in volume of First-Class Mail, which has a 
15

high-contribution margin (the decline being a negative environmental trend), can lead to 

the erosion of a healthy cost coverage base. However, Postal Service management’s 

response to this decline and constraints on management flexibility also affect its 

financial condition.

As detailed in the Commission’s Financial Analysis report, the Commission 

calculated the Altman Z-Score to predict the probability of the Postal Service running 

out of cash to pay its creditors. Financial analysis evaluates the financial strength of an 

agency through the use of a variety of metrics. In conjunction with financial ratios, these 

metrics are used to gauge an entity’s long-term viability. However, sometimes the 

agency’s ratios reflect conflicting views. To help eliminate confusion, New York 

University Professor Edward Altman developed the Z-Score in 1968 as a tool to 

explicitly address the likelihood that a company could go bankrupt.

A quantitative model designed to predict the financial distress of a business, the 

Altman Z-Score uses a blend of the traditional financial ratios and a statistical method 

known as multiple discriminant analysis. The formula has achieved general acceptance 

by management accountants and auditors.

The Commission calculates the Altman Z-Score in its Financial Analysis report to 

predict the probability of bankruptcy of an entity with the attributes of the Postal Service. 

The Commission uses a factor model for a private non-manufacturer to evaluate the 

Postal Service’s financial stability as follows: 

Altman Z-Score = T1+T2+T3+T4 as denoted in the tables below. 
16

The four performance ratios in the calculations are combined into a single score 

by weighting. The coefficients are estimated from a set of entities that have previously 

declared bankruptcy. A matched sample of entities is collected and matched by industry 

and estimated assets.

The Commission calculates that the Postal Service’s Altman Z-Score was 

negative 6.4 on September 30, 2016. That means that there is a high probability that the 

Postal Service will go into financial distress. More commonly, a lower Altman Z-Score 

reflects higher odds of bankruptcy. This 2016 Altman Z-Score of negative 6.4 for the 

Postal Service is a setback from the FY 2015 score of negative 6.1 (and from the FY 

2014 score of negative 5.7), and it is a significant deterioration from the positive score 

10 years ago for FY 2006 of 0.2. Despite the results obtained, it should be mentioned 

that the Altman Z-Score as a predictor of the entity’s bankruptcy probability is only 

relative, the structure of the Postal Service’s ratios may be atypical, and interpreting the 

significance of the Z-Score would require deeper analysis by Postal Service 

management. 

Altman Z-Score, FY 2006

Ratio Calculation

Ratio Value 

on 

9/30/2006

Weighting 

Factor

Product 

(col. 3 * col. 

4)

1 2 3 4 5

T1 Working Capital/Total Assets (0.3) 1.2 (0.4)

T2 Retained Earnings/Total Assets 0.2 1.4 0.3

T3 Earnings/Total Assets 0.0 3.3 0.1

T4 Capital/Total Liabilities 0.3 0.6 0.2

Altman Z-Score 0.2
17

Altman Z-Score, FY 2016

 The deterioration in the Postal Service’s viability relates to the erosion of retained 

earnings caused by consecutive net losses, the statutory obligation to prefund PSRHBF 

benefits, and decreasing Retained Earnings/Total Asset ratio. A comparatively lower 

Working Capital/Total Assets ratio results from the continued lag in replacement of its 

almost fully depreciated existing assets. The significant drop in these two measures 

causes the negative fluctuation to the Postal Service Altman Z-Score when comparing 

FY 2016 with FY 2006.

Total Mail Volume: Continuing Decline

Total mail volume in 2016 dropped to levels not seen in more than 29 years, and 

the Postal Service anticipates further reductions in total volumes for 2017. The 

aggregate decline in mail volume is the result of the economic recession of 2007 along 

with the acceleration of a long-term trend of mail migrating to electronic media. 

According to the Postal Service, the volume lost to electronic alternatives is not 

expected to return because the movement constitutes a fundamental and permanent 

change in mail use by households and businesses.

Ratio Calculation

Ratio Value 

on 

9/30/2016

Weighting 

Factor

Product 

(col. 3 * col. 

4)

1 2 3 4 5

T1 Working Capital/Total Assets (1.8) 1.2 (2.1)

T2 Retained Earnings/Total Assets (2.2) 1.4 (3.1)

T3 Earnings/Total Assets (0.2) 3.3 (0.7)

T4 Capital/Total Liabilities (0.7) 0.6 (0.4)

Altman Z-Score (6.4)
18

Market Dominant products: continuing decline, particularly in First-Class Mail

Over the last 9 years, Market Dominant products volume declined by

approximately 52 billion pieces. Approximately 42 percent of the volume decline 

occurred in FY 2009 when Market Dominant volume declined 12.7 percent. 

For specific products within the Market Dominant category, volume declines at 

different rates. In FY 2016, First-Class Mail volume declined by approximately 1.0 billion 

pieces, or 1.7 percent of total First-Class Mail, and Standard Mail volume increased by

840 million pieces, or 1.0 percent of total Standard Mail. These classes constitute the 

bulk of the volume of Market Dominant products overall. In FY 2016, First-Class Mail 

and Standard Mail accounted for 93 percent of the total mail volume. The decline in 

First-Class Mail is the most troubling as First-Class Mail contributes the most to the 

overhead costs of the Postal Service.
19

Competitive products: continuing increases but lower margin

Volumes and revenues for Competitive products, which are mainly parcels,

increased 13.7 percent and 12.6 percent, respectively, in FY 2016. While Competitive 

products volume and revenue has grown consistently in recent years, its volume only 

makes up 2.9 percent of the total mail volume of the Postal Service. In addition, the 

margin (i.e., the overall cost coverage) on Competitive products is lower than the margin

for First-Class Mail. In other words, the Postal Service earns more money from FirstClass Mail than it does from Standard Mail or Competitive product parcels. 

The continuous decline in First-Class Mail volume and revenue seriously 

jeopardizes the Postal Service’s ability to cover its fixed overhead costs. As stated in 

the Postal Service’s FY 2016 Form 10-K statement, “ [The Postal Service must]

generate approximately $2.50 in Shipping and Package revenue to replace the 

contribution from each $1 of lost First-Class Mail revenue, as the costs to process and 

deliver Shipping and Packages services were, and continue to be, substantially higher 

than the costs associated with First-Class Mail.”

Personnel Related Costs

In FY 2016, total personnel related expenses, including the payment to the

Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund (PSRHBF) and the non-cash adjustments 

to the workers’ compensation, increased by $2.4 billion or 4.1 percent from the prior 

year. The Postal Service continues to expense the amount payable to the PSRHBF, 

although it remains unable to make the actual payment into the fund. The last Postal 

Service payment to the PSRHBF occurred in 2010.
20

Beginning in 1989, the law required the Postal Service to pay the government’s 

share of the premium for its own annuitants, which, in FY 2016, amounted to $3.3

billion. In 2006, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) estimated that the Postal 

Service needed to generate $75 billion to cover benefits for all its current and future 

retirees. The 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) established the 

PSRHBF to collect these payments from the Postal Service. Until 2006, the Postal 

Service had $0 (i.e., zero, nothing) set aside to pay for its future retiree health benefits. 

In addition to the initial amount transferred from the Civil Service Retirement and 

Disability Fund of $17 billion into the PSRHBF upon enactment, the Postal Service paid

$20.9 billion during the first 5 years after enactment of the 2006 law to meet this overly 

ambitious statutory requirement to prefund much of its future retiree health benefits. 

Presently, even though the Postal Service has not made any of the required prefunding

payments in the past 6 years, there is $51.9 billion in the PSRHBF and a current 

unfunded amount of $52.1 billion (this is the portion that remains unpaid by the Postal 

Service).

Under current law, in addition to the Postal Service paying the normal cost 

amounts for retiree health benefits each year, the unfunded amount of $52.1 billion will 

be amortized over 40 years beginning in FY 2017. Also, in FY 2017, the PSRHBF starts

paying the current year health benefits premiums.

From an operations standpoint, personnel costs increased by $1.4 billion in 

FY 2016 – a majority of which comprises compensation and retirement benefits. 

Compensation increased by $703 million while retirement benefits increased by $277

million. Compensation expenses grew over the previous year mainly due to obligated 
21

salary increases and the growth in Shipping and Package volumes, where, because of 

the size and shape of pieces, handling requires more workhours. As noted previously, 

retirement benefits expenses grew due to an OPM mandated increase in the agency

annuity contribution rate for the FERS. Additionally, OPM notified the Postal Service 

that the FERS annuity account is underfunded by $3.6 billion as of the end of FY 2014. 

Under current law, the unfunded liability is to be amortized over 30 years, and this 

annual payment is estimated by OPM to be $248 million. The Postal Service has 

expensed this supplemental pension charge, but noted in its annual Form 10-K

statement that it is reviewing OPM’s underlying calculation regarding the unfunded 

pension estimate and has not yet paid this expense pending its review.

Summary: Significant Financial Obstacles for the Future

In summary, the Postal Service still faces significant financial obstacles for the 

future. The exigent surcharge was removed on April 10, 2016, because the Postal 

Service had collected all of the allowable $4.6 billion. With the growing liability of retiree 

health benefits, the inability to borrow for needed capital investments, and the continued 

loss of high margin First-Class Mail revenues, the important task of improving the 

financial condition of the Postal Service is daunting. Total liabilities exceed total assets

by $56 billion.

Universal Service Obligation (USO)

The cost of providing universal service in the U.S. is estimated by the 

Commission to be more than $4 billion annually. Title 39 U.S.C. § 3651(b)(1) requires 

the Commission to estimate in its Annual Report to the President and Congress the 
22

costs incurred by the Postal Service in providing three types of public services or 

activities: postal services to areas of the Nation the Postal Service would not otherwise 

serve; free or reduced rates for postal services as required by Title 39; and other public 

services or activities the Postal Service would not otherwise provide but for legal 

requirements. In the Annual Report issued in January 2017, the Commission estimated 

that the total of these three categories is $4.24 billion.

Aside from the financial pressure of generating sufficient funds to remain solvent, 

the Postal Service must also be concerned about how to fund this $4 billion in universal 

service obligations. This obligation is in addition to those monies required to keep the 

mail moving, undertake capital investments, and pay other multibillion dollar obligations 

such as retiree costs.

How does the United States define universal mail service? In 2008, the 

Commission, pursuant to law, determined that the USO has seven attributes: 

geography, range of products, access to facilities, delivery frequency, 

prices/affordability, quality of service, and users’ rights (or enforcement). 

Other nations have imposed universal service requirements directly on their

postal operator by statute, regulation, licensing, or contract. Countries like Australia, 

Canada, and Germany – just to name a few – have a detailed definition of universal 

postal service, with specific standards for delivery and retail access. Unlike other 

countries, the Commission concluded that the USO in the United States is largely 

undefined and instead is comprised of a broad set of policy statements with only a few 

legislative proscriptions. Aside from the annual appropriations mandate for the past 34
23

years to provide 6 days of delivery, Congress has rarely established rigid, numerical 

standards of minimally acceptable service for any of the attributes identified by the 

Commission. Rather, through its history, the Postal Service has been expected to use 

its flexibility to meet the needs and expectations of the Nation while balancing the 

delivery of service against budgetary constraints.

In the absence of a clear definition, particularly given the Postal Service’s current 

financial challenges, each of us may have a differing view of what the Postal Service 

must provide in its services and operations to fulfill the USO, and since there is no 

specific agreed upon definition, all of our views will have different price tags. The 

Commission recommended in its 2008 report “that Congress consider and balance all 

the features of universal service as part of any review of changes necessary to preserve 

a financially viable Postal Service.”

In 2007, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a report titled, Accounting 

for Laws That Apply Differently to the United States Postal Service and Its Private 

Competitors, Federal Trade Commission, December 2007. The report identified and 

quantified the economic burdens and advantages that exist by virtue of the Postal 

Service’s status as a federal government entity and its postal and mailbox monopolies. 

The FTC determined, based on 2006 financial results, that the Postal Service’s unique 

legal status ultimately put the Postal Service at an overall disadvantage in the 

Competitive product market. According to the FTC, the Postal Service’s competitive 

products benefited from an implicit subsidy of between $39-$117 million per year 

associated with avoided Federal, state, and local legal requirements. However, the legal 

restraints imposed on it by Federal regulations cost the Postal Service an estimated 
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$330-$782 million a year in reduced efficiency in providing competitive products, 

according to the FTC.

Concluding Observations

Despite the bad financial news, there is good news, even if it is hard to see or 

seems overwhelmed by the financial position of the Postal Service. There is still 

strength in the system.

The Postal Service is the one government agency that touches every American 

on a daily basis; it is an organization that literally serves 155 million American 

households and businesses on a typical day. It facilitates trillions of dollars in 

commerce. According to the Envelope Manufacturing Association Foundation’s Institute 

of Postal Studies, its 2015 Mailing Industry Job Study found that the Postal Service 

supports a $1.4 trillion mailing industry that employs 7.5 million people. The Postal 

Service is the key cog of a marketing and distribution system through which small and 

large businesses, nonprofit organizations, and consumers can transact business, 

advertise services, and distribute products. It is a significant driver of the Nation’s 

economic engine and an essential piece of its infrastructure.

Throughout its 241-year history, the Postal Service has endured multiple 

economic recessions and a Great Depression. It has dealt with numerous disasters, 

which have interfered with mail delivery and strained the infrastructure. It has responded 

to these immense challenges by adapting, often despite predictions of failure or even its 

demise in the face of competition from new technologies.
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With the inherent and underlying strength of the system, today’s Postal Service 

can survive these challenges too. The fundamental problem as outlined in the 

Commission’s testimony today is that the Postal Service cannot currently generate 

sufficient funds to cover its mandated expenses and also invest in critically deferred 

capital needs, such as new delivery vehicles and package sortation equipment. Despite 

the very serious and real financial problems, let’s also keep in mind the good news – the 

strength in the system – and take some degree of hope knowing that this is the 

foundation that Congress and the Administration can build upon to find solutions. The 

strength in the system will be the engine that ensures the Postal Service will continue to 

meet its basic mission to “deliver.”

Where Do We Go From Here?

The pressing question is “What needs to be done to improve the financial 

condition of the Postal Service?” The Commission has made recommendations on 

modifying the retiree health benefits funding and the computation of the liabilities for 

both retiree health benefits and pensions through separate studies on those topics, and 

also in its “Section 701” reports issued in September 2011 and November 2016. 

Section 701 of the PAEA mandates that the Commission, at least every 5 years, 

submit a report to the President and Congress evaluating the operation of the changes 

made by the PAEA and to make recommendations for any legislation or other measures 

necessary to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our Nation’s postal laws.

Appendix A to this testimony is the Executive Summary from the 2016 report and details 

the Commission’s legislative recommendations. The Commission’s report emphasized 
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the starkly different environment faced by the Postal Service since the enactment of the 

PAEA – a time when volume was growing and the Postal Service was earning revenues 

that exceeded costs. In short, the Commission determined that the most important

legislative recommendations it could make related directly to improving the volatile 

financial condition of the U.S. Postal Service.

I note that the bipartisan postal reform legislation, H.R. 756, the Postal Service 

Reform Act of 2017, introduced just last week by Chairman Chaffetz, Ranking Member 

Cummings, Subcommittee Chairman Meadows and Ranking Member Connolly, and 

Representatives Ross and Lynch is specifically designed to put the Postal Service on 

sound financial footing.

Today’s hearing invitation noted that the hearing would discuss “the significance 

and potential implications of the Postal Regulatory Commission’s ongoing review of the 

market dominant rate system.” By law, after December 20, 2016, the Commission must 

review the price cap system for regulating Market Dominant products to determine if the 

system is achieving its statutory objectives and if it is not, to “make such modification or 

adopt such alternative system” to achieve the objectives. There are 9 objectives listed in 

the law that the modern rate regulation system must be designed to achieve, as well as 

14 factors that the Commission must take into account. While each of the nine 

objectives must be applied in conjunction with the others, I would observe that relevant 

to the focus of today’s hearing on Postal Service finances, objective number five is “[t]o 

assure adequate revenues, including retained earnings, to maintain financial stability.”
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When I last testified to the Committee in May 2016, I stated that the Commission 

had already well begun marshaling its limited resources to identify approaches to 

structure the review and schedule a process that would allow full and open opportunities 

for those interested to participate. I also committed that the Commission would provide 

notice to the public of its plans for the review well in advance of commencing it.

We delivered on those commitments. On September 1, 2016, during a public 

meeting of the Commission, I first announced Commission plans for that review. The 

Commission chose to notify the public in September so that all interested parties could 

prepare to participate in the review. The public was informed that the Order beginning 

the review would be issued on December 20; that the deadline for public comments to 

be submitted would be in early Spring of 2017; and that the Commission planned to 

issue an order which included its findings and, if necessary, preparatory rule-making 

information for any changes to the system in early Autumn of 2017.

On December 20, 2016, at 8:00 a.m., the Commission commenced docket 

RM2017-3 to review the price cap system for regulating Market Dominant products. In 

carrying out its statutory responsibility, the Commission has sought to achieve a 

balance of seeking views from the public while at the same time recognizing the 

importance of providing certainty and being decisive in its task. As a result, the 

Commission has designed a process which seeks targeted input from the public, but 

also deliberately moves forward with the aim of completing its findings by early Autumn 

this year (2017). The Commission is indeed mindful that H.R. 756, your new bipartisan 

postal reform bill, would mandate a process whereby final rules regarding modifications 
28

or changes to the rate system must be implemented by very early 2018. We are working 

hard to meet that goal.

There are no easy answers, but answer we must. I’ve outlined above some work 

that the Commission has completed and will be undertaking in this regard. I commend 

this Committee leadership for again coming together, as you did last Congress, to 

introduce legislation to address these challenges. The Commission stands ready to 

assist in your search for answers on behalf of our Nation’s postal system and the more 

than 325 million Americans who depend on it.

On behalf of all four Commissioners and the entire hard working agency staff, 

thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I am happy to answer any questions.
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Appendix A: Excerpt from the Commission’s 2016 “section 701” report 

(November 14, 2016)
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31
32
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Robert G. Taub, Chairman (R)

Robert G. Taub was designated Chairman upon his reappointment as a 

Commissioner on December 12, 2016, for a second term, following his 

nomination by President Barack Obama and confirmation by the United 

States Senate. At the time of his designation and reappointment, he had 

been serving as Acting Chairman since December 4, 2014. He was sworn 

in as Commissioner in October 2011, following his nomination by President 

Obama and confirmation by the United States Senate. The Commission 

elected him Vice Chairman for calendar year 2013. Chairman Taub has more than 30 years of 

experience in public service. When first appointed as a Commissioner, Mr. Taub had been the 

Special Assistant to Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh since October 2009. In this role as 

an Army Department senior executive, he was one of the principal civilian advisors to Secretary 

McHugh, helping him oversee a workforce of more than 1.2 million people, and manage an 

annual budget over $200 billion. He was awarded the Army’s Decoration for Distinguished 

Civilian Service.

Before his appointment to the Army, Mr. Taub served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative 

John M. McHugh (R-NY) for the preceding decade. As Chief of Staff, he oversaw the day-to-day 

operations of Representative McHugh’s staff and offices in Washington, D.C. and Northern New 

York State. In a variety of leadership roles on the U.S. House Oversight & Government Reform 

Committee for 12 years, Mr. Taub also worked closely with Congressman McHugh on matters 

relating to the nation’s postal and delivery sector. He crafted Representative McHugh’s 

legislation for modernizing America’s postal laws for the first time since 1970, culminating in 

passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act in 2006. Mr. Taub also helped 

Representative McHugh conduct hearings and investigations into postal operations that 

ultimately led to the enactment of a dozen other postal laws.

During his tenure in public office, Mr. Taub has addressed numerous national and regional 

conventions of postal employee organizations, mailing industry groups, and government and 

academic conferences both in the U.S. and abroad, on issues confronting the postal sector. The 

Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service, postal employee unions, and mailing industry 

associations and nonprofits have all recognized Mr. Taub with several awards and honors.

Prior to his time with the House of Representatives, Mr. Taub worked for eight years at the U.S. 

Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress. As a senior policy 

analyst, Mr. Taub planned and directed evaluations for the Congress on environmental, 

banking, energy, and defense issues. Previous to his position with the GAO, Mr. Taub worked 

as a staff member for three different Members of Congress, a Member of the British Parliament, 

and state and county officials in upstate New York.

A native of Gloversville, New York, Mr. Taub earned an M.A. in Political Science, with a 

concentration in American politics, and a B.S. in Political Science with Honors, both from 

American University in Washington, D.C. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public 

Administration.