WASHINGTON – A 2-cent boost in the price of a postage stamp was approved Tuesday by the independent Postal Rate Commission.

Under the recommendation, which now goes to the Postal Service’s Board of Governors for final action, the cost of a first-class stamp will go from 37 cents to 39 cents and the postcard rate will rise a penny to 24 cents. The Postal Service requested the increase last April. It is expected to go into effect in January.

The increase is needed so the post office can make a $3.1 billion escrow payment required by Congress. A bill that would eliminate that payment and make other changes in postal operations was approved by the House but has not yet passed the Senate. The White House has expressed reservations about the bill.