Add the Postal Service to the list of problems Congress is so far unable to fix. America's mail service endured its first-ever default overnight, failing to submit a required $5.5 billion payment for future retirees' health benefits by Thursday, Fox News reported today. The unprecedented lapse prompted new questions about the fate of the Postal Service as its financial situation spirals ever more out of control, and Capitol Hill lawmakers have started a new round of fingerpointing after deadlocking over how to break the slide. The agency is expected to miss another $5.6 billion payment in September. For now, the missed mega-payments are not expected to affect day-to-day operations. The default raises questions about whether taxpayers will eventually need to step in to save an agency that historically has gotten by without taxpayer support, even though it is subject to congressional oversight. As it loses roughly $25 million a day, the agency has rolled out a plan to cut Saturday delivery, reduce low-volume postal facilities and end its obligation to pay the future retiree health payments. The House and Senate each have taken a different approach to that plan.
