ADVERTISEMENT

Treasury Prepares $10 Billion Credit Line for Postal Service

Treasury Prepares $10 Billion Credit Line for Postal Service

The federal government is prepared to loan the United States Postal Service $10 billion for pandemic relief, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.

“While the USPS is able to fund its operating expenses without additional borrowing at this time, we are pleased to have reached an agreement on the material terms and conditions of a loan, should the need arise,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

The funds were included by Congress in the $2 trillion pandemic relief package in March.

Mnuchin’s loan offering marks a shift from comments made by President Donald Trump in April. The president called the Postal Service a “joke” and said that he wouldn’t approve any rescue funds until the post office raised its prices.

Trump has long railed against the Postal Service, accusing it of allowing drugs to be mailed into the U.S. from Mexico and China and for giving preferential rates to Amazon.com Inc. That company’s chief executive officer, Jeff Bezos, also owns the Washington Post, a frequent target of Trump for its coverage of his presidency.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.