Post office posts $1.9 billion second quarter loss

The U.S. Postal Service said Friday it lost $1.9 billion over the last three months and warned that losses would continue to mount without help from Congress. The loss for the financial quarter ending March 31 was narrower than a $3.2 billion loss for the same period last year, thanks to slightly higher revenues and lower payments towards health benefits for workers who will retire in the future.

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Donahoe: Postal Service bailout looms if Congress doesn't act quickly

If Congress doesn't pass comprehensive postal reform legislation soon, it could find itself forced to bail out the financially troubled U.S. Postal Service to the tune of billions of dollars, said Postmaster General Pat Donahoe. The postmaster general said in a speech at the National Press Club he's optimistic Congress will pass postal reform legislation this year.

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Postal Service's 'broken business model' under fire but solutions scarce

Postmaster General Pat Donahoe told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Wednesday that the Postal Service is operating under a "broken business model." But cost-saving efforts, such as ending Saturday delivery and modifying a multibillion dollar requirement to prefund future retirees health care costs, garnered little agreement among lawmakers.

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Postal Service backs down on ending Saturday mail

The U.S. Postal Service has reversed its decision to end Saturday mail delivery service, saying Congress gave it no choice when it passed a 2013 appropriations bill last month that continued a ban on five-day delivery.

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Feds helping furloughed feds

Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund Executive Director Steve Bauer, and Sean Reilly from the Federal Times, will discuss furloughs, and their impact on feds.
April 3, 2013

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PRC to analyze impact of changing Saturday mail delivery

The U.S. Postal Service continues to insist changes are necessary to help deal with budget woes in the face of congressional resistance. The Postal Service also is accelerating the closure of 53 mail processing plants.

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Furloughs, sequestration, and five day delivery

AFGE's J. David Cox, and Federal Times Senior Writer Sean Reilly will talk about the impact of sequestration and the possiblity that federal workers will be furloughed.
March 27, 2013

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Debate rages over USPS delivery changes

The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service announced last month it would end Saturday delivery of first-class mail. But a new legal decision from the Government Accountability Office seemed to offer more questions than answers.

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Postal Service reform finds new life on Capitol Hill

Real reform for the U.S. Postal Service may be gaining some steam in Congress. Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), the new chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees the Postal Service, tells Federal News Radio, House leadership sees room for compromise with Democrats when it comes to figuring out ways to get USPS back in the black. Farenthold supports the Postal Service's plan to eliminate Saturday mail delivery.

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House puts damper on USPS plan for 5-day delivery

The fiscal 2013 spending bill doesn't remove the requirement for the Postal Service to deliver first-class mail six days a week. Other provisions in the bill povide a boost in funding DHS cyber, DoD acquisition and VA IT spending.

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Postal Service fashion coming to a store near you?

The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service announced Feb. 19 it has inked a deal with the Cleveland-based Wahconah Group to launch an all-weather line of clothing. The clothing and accessories, to be branded with USPS trademarks, will be available at department and specialty stores beginning in 2014.

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USPS makes case for ending Saturday delivery as postal reform push continues

The U.S. Postal Service's worsening financial situation led Postmaster General Pat Donahoe to announce last week the agency would end Saturday mail delivery beginning in August. But lawmakers on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee were divided over Donahoe's announcement. The postmaster general told the committee during a hearing Wednesday the decision was necessary to save $2 billion a year and to begin shoring up the service's funding shortfalls.

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Postal Service lost $1.3 billion over quarter

Flurry of campaign ads, holiday mail helped post office some, but it still lost $1.3 billion

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Goodbye Saturday mail? Postal Service plans cuts

Financially strapped Postal Service plans to cut Saturday mail, but continue package delivery

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Postal Service's IG's office proclaims 2013 as year of mobile

Gary Barlet, the OIG's chief information officer, is taking a three-pronged approach to helping employees access data from anywhere, at anytime. The steps include virtualization, a BYOD strategy and cloud services.
February 7, 2013

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USPS employees to see less overtime, more buyouts under 5-day delivery plan

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said the service can no longer afford to delivery first class mail six-days a week. He said cutting back by one day a week would save about $2 billion a year. USPS still would have a $14 billion deficit and needs help from Congress to address other fiscal challenges.

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Letter carriers union denounces move to five-day mail delivery

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Federal Drive Interviews -- Feb. 6, 2013

Forrest Morgeson, director of research at the American Customer Satisfaction Index, has some good news for some agencies. Agriculture Department official Kevin Concannon says USDA is claiming victory in its battle against fraud. Jordy Yager of The Hill newspaper explains why some on Capitol Hill are talking about Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) Tom Day, USPS' chief sustainability officer, shares news of the Postal Service's successful conservation efforts.

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King Solomon maybe, Judge Judy not so much...

How does a recent contract arbitration between the U.S. Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers take a page from King Solomon? Read Senior Correspondent Mike Causey column for more.

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Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 17, 2013

Michael Daniel, White house cybersecurity coordinator, talks about the new national strategy for information sharing and safeguarding. Brian Friel of Bloomberg Government examines what new regulations mean to the bottom line of some contractors. Charles Crum of the Postal Service's IG office discusses how USPS is embracing the Internet. Michael Nugent of the Defense Language and National Security Education Office talks about a new language program of feds going overseas.

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