summer of 2010 the USPS requested the Postal Regulatory Commission to raise the price of a first class stamp by 2 cents, from 44 cents to 46 cents, to take effect January 2, 2011. On September 30, 2010, the PRC formally denied the request, but the USPS filed an appeal with the Federal Court of Appeals in Washington DC. On September 25, 2013, the USPS announced a 3 cent increase in the First Class postal rate, to be effective January 26, 2014, increasing the price of a stamp to 49 cents. Bulk mail, periodicals, and package service rates were also increased by 6 percent. A loss of US$5 billion during the 2013 fiscal year was the reason given for the increase. The legislation which set the price to 49 cents was enacted as a temporary measure and as an "exigent surcharge for mailing products and services". However, this legislation was set to expire in April 2016. As a result, the Post Office retained one cent of the price change as a previously allotted adjustment for inflation, but the price of a first class stamp became 47 cents: for the first time in 97 years (and for the third time in the agency's history, the price of a stamp decreased.) See also United States postal abbreviations United States Postal Service creed Unions of the U.S. Postal Service: American Postal Workers Union National Association of Letter Carriers National Postal Mail Handlers Union National Rural Letter Carriers' Association History: Post Office Murals American Letter Mail Company Postage stamps and postal history of the United States of America References Sources First Class Mail Prices, 2010 Rates for Domestic Letters Since 1863 Rates for Stamped Cards and Postcards Consumer Price Index data Nondenomination Stamps FAQ Paying the Postage in the U.S., 1776–1921 USPS Price List Notice 123 Further reading Beecher, Henry W. and Anthony S. Wawrukiewicz. U.S. Domestic Postal Rates, 1872–2011. Bellefonte, Pa.: American Philatelic Society, 2011. United States Postal Service Postage stamps of the United States USA