Financially ailing Postal Service gets a reprieve

The agency, which lost $5.1 billion in fiscal 2011, received another deferral from Congress on a $5.5 billion payment to prefund retirees' health benefits. President Obama on Friday signed into law a bill funding several departments and some smaller agencies for the remainder of fiscal 2012, and keeping others open through Dec. 16. The law also includes language postponing until Dec. 16 the Postal Service's payment, originally due at the end of September.

USPS would have lost $10.6 billion this year if Congress had not allowed the agency to defer its mandatory payment to prefund postal retirees' health benefits.

Earlier this week, Chief Financial Officer Joseph Corbett said USPS probably will run out of money by the end of fiscal 2012, even if it doesn't have to prefund retirees' health benefits. The agency does not have the money to make the 2011 payment and will not have the $5.6 billion that is due on Sept. 30, 2012, he said.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week approved a bill that would restructure prefunded retirement health benefits, reducing the payment goal to 80 percent. It also would require USPS to negotiate with its unions to develop a new employee health care plan.