Coronavirus guidelines sent to every American cost USPS $28M

Coronavirus guideline pamphlets that were sent to every American in March cost the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) $28 million.

USPS spokesman David Partenheimer said the cards also cost around $4.6 million to print, amounting to the total $28 million cost, he confirmed in response to documents obtained by USA Today.

The cards were sent out by the USPS to 138 million residential addresses beginning March 21, the report added.

The pamphlets featured safety information for Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic, including social distancing recommendations and cautions to avoid travels as well as gatherings of more than 10 people.

Although the $28 million cost is only a small portion of the Postal Service’s budget, the service has been struggling with financial challenges, reporting more than $80 billion in expenses for fiscal 2019 and only $71 billion in revenue.

Postmaster General Megan Brennan told the House Oversight and Reform Committee in April that the USPS expects to lose $13 billion due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This month, the president named a significant donor and ally Louis DeJoy to take over as postmaster general starting in June.

On April 24, President Trump called the USPS “a joke,” saying the service is “handing out packages for Amazon” and other online companies, adding that they need to raise their prices “by approximately four times” for corporations, according to the report.

“We authorized in the last CARES Act over $10 billion of a loan, my team is already actively working on that with the Postal Service if they need the money,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said during the same meeting.

Referencing a bipartisan plan to provide aid to the Postal Service, Trump said he would not sign anything “if they don’t raise the price” for corporations using their service, adding that if they raise prices, “they become maybe even profitable,” according to USA Today.