The Federal Government, the only institution that can lose billions of dollars and remain open for business. A private company would go under.

Privatize and shut it down.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service said Friday it lost $1.9 billion over the last three months and warned that losses would continue to mount without help from Congress.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said the agency is considering its options, including negotiations with unions to reduce labor costs and another possible increase in prices. “Everything has to be on the table,” Donahoe said. Over the past six months, the Postal Service has shed about 31,000 full-time employees, consolidated 61 processing facilities, eliminated 350 delivery routes and reduced work hours in 5,000 offices. It now has the lowest number of full-time employees since 1966.

Even with all of the changes they are still in the red.

The National Association of Letter Carriers noted that the Postal Service’s operating revenue of $16.3 billion was nearly 1 percent higher than the same period last year, a sign of gradual progress in the agency’s financial picture. Fredric Rolando, the union’s president, said the improvement “shows the absurdity of taking the radical step of degrading the postal network by eliminating Saturday delivery.” “This would cost the USPS its competitive advantage, drive customers away, reduce revenue and make the Postal Service less able to adapt to an evolving society,” Rolando said.