The House Subcommittee on Government Operations has now concluded its March 17, 2026 hearing on “Oversight of the United States Postal Service: The Financial Future Under Postmaster General David Steiner,” and the message emerging from Capitol Hill is unmistakable: the United States Postal Service (USPS) faces mounting financial pressure, and time to act may be running short. According to the Subcommittee’s official wrap-up, the Postal Service’s “already-troubled financial situation is getting worse,” prompting renewed concern over whether the agency can remain viable without significant structural change.

A System Under Strain

Testimony before the Subcommittee underscored the scale of the challenge. Postmaster General David Steiner pointed to a dramatic collapse in traditional mail volume, from 213 billion pieces annually at its peak to approximately 109 billion today, representing a loss of over 100 billion pieces of mail and tens of billions in lost revenue. At the same time, while USPS has taken steps to increase revenue and reduce costs, those efforts have not kept pace with rising expenses. As the Government Accountability Office (GAO) emphasized, the current trajectory “is not sustainable,” with service performance declining even as costs continue to grow.