2026年3月18日 / 美国东部时间上午9:15 / CBS新闻
美国人寄一封一等信可能很快要支付近1美元。
美国邮政署长戴维·施泰纳周二在国会听证会上表示，由于面临财务困境，美国邮政署（USPS）希望将一等邮票价格提高至90美分至95美分之间。目前一等邮票的价格为78美分。
多年来，美国邮政署一直受高额成本和邮件量下降的困扰，2025年亏损达90亿美元。尽管邮政署有一项10年计划来削减开支并恢复盈利能力，但该机构仍面临重大财务挑战。施泰纳告诉众议院监督委员会，美国邮政署可能在12个月内耗尽现金。
“正如你们所知，任何公司要改善财务状况，只有三种办法——销售更多产品、提高价格或削减成本，”施泰纳在国会听证会上表示，“在定价方面，我们需要考虑提高包裹和邮件产品的价格。”
他补充说，将一等邮票价格提高至95美分“将在很大程度上解决我们可控的亏损”。
比法国便宜
施泰纳指出，目前78美分的一等邮票价格是“工业化国家中最低的”。相比之下，法国和英国提供相同服务的价格分别约为3美元和2.50美元。
“而且在那些国家，信件需要运送的最长距离约为600英里——小于得克萨斯州的面积。而我们从波多黎各最南端到阿拉斯加最北端投递邮件仅需78美分，”他补充道。
施泰纳于2025年7月接任邮政署长，此前曾在联邦快递董事会任职。他是在路易斯·德乔伊于2025年初离开该机构后上任的。
2021年，德乔伊制定了一项10年计划，旨在到2024年使该机构恢复盈利。这些改革包括多次提高邮票价格，以及对其区域运输系统进行全面改革，包括不再保证邮件在寄出当天收到邮戳。
严峻警告
尽管有德乔伊的计划，美国邮政署的亏损仍在继续增加。周二，施泰纳告诉立法者，美国邮政署需要做出更多改变才能维持运营。
“我不确定美国公众是否意识到美国邮政署正处于一个关键时刻，”他表示，如果不进行改变，“从现在起不到一年，美国邮政署将无法继续投递邮件，如果我们维持现状的话。”
除了提高一等邮票价格，施泰纳表示，美国邮政署应将其借款限额从目前自1990年代以来一直维持的150亿美元提高。他还呼吁改革该机构的养老金计划，允许其投资于美国国债以外的证券，称这可能有助于提高投资回报。
编辑：Alain Sherter
USPS wants to raise first-class stamp price to as high as 95 cents
March 18, 2026 / 9:15 AM EDT / CBS News
Americans may soon pay almost $1 to mail a first-class letter.
The U.S. Postal Service wants to raise first-class stamp prices to between 90 cents and 95 cents as it faces a financial crunch, Postmaster General David Steiner said Tuesday at a congressional hearing. The current price of a first-class stamp is 78 cents.
The USPS has for years struggled with high costs and dwindling mail volume, resulting in a $9 billion loss in 2025. While the Postal Service has a 10-year plan to reduce expenses and restore profitability, the agency still faces major financial challenges, with Steiner telling the House Oversight Committee that the USPS is at risk of running out of cash in 12 months.
“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,” Steiner said in his congressional testimony. “On the pricing side, we need to look for higher prices on both our package and mail products.”
Raising the price of first-class stamps to as high as 95 cents “would largely solve our controllable loss,” he added.
Cheaper than France
Steiner pointed out that the current price of 78 cents for first-class stamps is the lowest “in the industrialized world.” By comparison, France and the U.K. charge about $3 and $2.50, respectively, for the same service.
“And the longest distance that letters have to travel in those countries is about 600 miles — smaller than the state of Texas. We deliver from the tip of Puerto Rico to the tip of Alaska for 78 cents,” he added.
Steiner, who took over as Postmaster General in July and previously served on FedEx’s board of directors, stepped into the role after Louis DeJoy left the agency in early 2025.
In 2021, DeJoy instituted the 10-year plan to return the agency to profitability by 2024. Those changes included multiple hikes in stamp prices and an overhaul of its regional transportation system, including no longer guaranteeing that mail would receive a postmark the day it was mailed.
Stark warning
Despite DeJoy’s plan, the Postal Service’s losses have continued to mount. On Tuesday, Steiner told lawmakers that the USPS needs to make more changes to stay afloat.
“I am not sure that the American public is aware that the Postal Service is at a critical juncture,” he said. Without changes, “Less than a year from now, the Postal Service will be unable to deliver the mail if we maintain the status quo.”
Aside from raising the price of a first-class stamp, Steiner said the USPS should raise its borrowing limit from the current level of $15 billion, which has been in place since the 1990s. He also called for reforms to the agency’s pension program by allowing it to invest in securities other than Treasury bills, which he said could help boost investment returns.
Edited by Alain Sherter
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