NEITHER RAN, NOR SLEET, NOR GLOOM OF A $10 BILLION LOSS

The U.S. Postal Service may lose $10 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, more than it had predicted, as mail volume continues to drop, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said in testimony for a Senate hearing.

The loss will leave the Washington-based service unable to make required payments to the federal government and puts it at risk of default as it reaches its $15 billion borrowing limit, Donahoe said in testimony prepared for the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing today.

“We are at a critical juncture,” Donahoe, who is also the service’s chief executive officer, wrote in his testimony. “Action from Congress is sorely needed by the close of this fiscal year.”

The Postal Service, which Donahoe predicts may lose $9 billion next year, is asking Congress to let it break union contracts to fire workers, loosen a requirement to pay now for future retirees’ health-benefit costs and end mail delivery on Saturdays.

Mail volume will decrease 2 percent from last year, marking the fifth consecutive year of declines, Donahoe said in the testimony. Mail volume has dropped 22 percent since 2006. The service previously predicted a $9 billion annual loss.

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