She’s a first as postal chief, but faces tough task

WASHINGTON – America’s new postmaster general will face the same daunting problems as the man she will succeed: budget losses in the billions and battles with Congress over cost-cutting.

The U.S. Postal Service’s Board of Governors on Friday named Megan Brennan, now the agency’s chief operating officer, to the top post in early 2015 when Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe retires.

She will become the first woman to head the agency.

Brennan called the promotion “the honor of a lifetime, especially for one who comes from a postal family.”

The announcement follows Donahoe’s own disclosure he will retire Feb. 1.

Donahoe, frequently at odds with Congress and the nation’s postal unions, told reporters, “We are much leaner, much more technologically centric than we were a few short years ago. We still have a long way to go.”

He announced his retirement “39 years ago to the day” after he started his career as a 20-year-old postal clerk in Pittsburgh. “So it’s probably time to step aside.”

The agency reported a $569 million revenue increase in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, but an overall loss for the year of $5.5 billion. The heavy losses are a result of a congressionally mandated $5.6 billion annual payment for future retiree health benefits.

The shortfall “underscores the need for comprehensive legislation to repair the Postal Service’s broken business model,” the agency said in a statement. Legislation to put the Postal Service on firmer financial footing is bogged down in Congress.