The plan to end Saturday mail delivery via the U.S. Postal Service has been delayed as mandated by Congress.
Delay in Skipping Saturday Delivery
Ending Saturday mail delivery is part of Obama’s budget plan,which was released on Wednesday. Originally the U.S. Postal Service had planned to end Saturday mail delivery by August, but Congress passed legislation that blocked the planned cuts. On Wednesday the Postal Service’s board of governor’s announced that language in the government funding measure prevents the cuts to Saturday delivery.
Although the Postal Service is disappointed with the decision they will abide the law. “It is not possible for the Postal Service to meet significant cost reduction goals without changing its delivery schedule…delaying responsible changes…may become a burden to the American taxpayer,” the USPS said in a statement.
USPS delays ending Saturday delivery
Instead of ending mail delivery on Saturday’s, the agency is going to going to renegotiate labor contracts. Since 1983, Congress has required six-day mail delivery and has extended this until September. There is currently a dispute between lawmakers about how to continue Saturday mail delivery. Republicans are in favor of ending mail deliveries on Saturday but Democrats oppose it because it disregards Congress. Ending delivery on Saturday could save up to $2 billion a year for an agency that lost $15.9 billion last year.
According to the budget’s document, the president’s budget plan is meant to allow Postal Service “to realign its business plan to better compete in the changing marketplace of increasingly digital communication.”
It will be interesting to see how the dispute between Congress and the Postal Service pans out. This could significantly change how we receive mail in the future.
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