The U.S. Postal Service announced today that unless legislation is passed this month, it is on the brink of default on its obligations. They say they need to cut operating expenses by $20 BILLION a year by 2015 to survive.

The Postmaster General spoke today to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. Here are some of the challenges the USPS would like to address with the help of Congress:

Retirement Benefits: By law the USPS is forced to contribute $5.5 billion each year to fund retirement health benefits of future retirees (in addition $2.5 billion for current retirees). The USPS would like to change this requirement.

Delivery Frequency: USPS wants to be able to be able to control delivery frequency...e.g. perhaps 5 days per week instead of 6. USPS states that in surveys, about 75% of the American public (up from 50% 2 years ago) favors cutting back service rather than cover l