Obama Throws the USPS a Lifeline

Facing the prospect of having maxed out its borrowing capabilities and not being able to meet its financial obligations by September, however, the USPS received a lifeline in the form of President Obama's 2012 budget, which would provide $4 billion in temporary financial relief in 2011.

The move is less a bailout and more of a correction and reallocation of funds. USPS had overpaid its Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) a whopping $6.9 billion. The budget proposes to repay the 
Postal Service over a 30-year span, with $550 million coming back in 2011.