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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service is seeking a rate
increase this summer that includes hiking the cost of a
first-class stamp from 73 cents to 78 cents.
The request was made Wednesday to the Postal Regulatory
Commission, which must OK the proposal. If approved, the 5-cent
increase for a “forever” stamp and similar increases for
postcards, metered letters and international mail would take
effect July 13.
The proposed changes would raise mailing services product prices
approximately 7.4%.
The Postal Service contends, as it did last year when it enacted
a similar increase, that it's needed to achieve financial
stability.
Former U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy previously warned
postal customers to get used to “uncomfortable” rate hikes as
the Postal Service seeks to become self-sufficient. He said
price increases were overdue after “at least 10 years of a
defective pricing model.”
DeJoy resigned in March after nearly five years in the position,
leaving as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of
Government Efficiency had floated the idea of privatizing mail
service.
Deputy Postmaster General Doug Tulino has taken on the role of
postmaster general until the Postal Service Board of Governors
names a permanent replacement for DeJoy.
Trump has said he is considering putting USPS under the control
of the Commerce Department in an effort to stop losses at the
$78 billion-a-year agency, which has struggled at times to
balance the books with the decline of first-class mail.
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