WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Postal Service wants to raise first-class stamp prices to between 90 cents and 95 cents. Postmaster General David Steiner said the Postal Service is at risk of running out of cash in 12 months.

The current price of a first-class stamp is 78 cents. Steiner said raising the price to as high as 95 cents would largely solve the Postal Service's controllable loss. The U.S. Postal Service reported a $9 billion loss in 2025.

"As you all know, there are only three things that any company can do to improve financial performance — sell more products, raise prices or cut costs," he said. "Less than a year from now, the Postal Service will be unable to deliver the mail if we maintain the status quo."

He said the current price of 78 cents for first-class stamps is the lowest among industrialized countries. In France, the price of a first-class stamp for similar service is about $3. In the U.K., the price of a first-class stamp for similar service is about $2.50.

The longest distance that letters travel in France and the U.K. is about 600 miles, which is shorter than the distance between Puerto Rico and Alaska, which the Postal Service delivers for 78 cents. He said he was not sure whether the American public was aware that the Postal Service was at a critical juncture.

Steiner told lawmakers that cutting delivery days was under consideration as a measure to address the Postal Service's cash shortfall. The Postal Service has faced high operating costs and declining mail volume.

Steiner took over as Postmaster General in July 2025. Prior to becoming Postmaster General, he served on FedEx's board of directors. Louis DeJoy left the Postal Service in early 2025.

In 2021, DeJoy instituted a 10-year plan to return the Postal Service to profitability by 2024. The plan included multiple hikes in stamp prices and an overhaul of the regional transportation system, including no longer guaranteeing that mail would receive a postmark the day it was mailed.

He also called for reforms to the pension program to allow investments in securities other than Treasury bills. He said the Postal Service should raise its borrowing limit from the current level of $15 billion, which has been in place since the 1990s. Without Congress's help, the Postal Service may be out of cash in 2027.