Postal Service to continue weekend delivery

by Staff
0 comment

post office signWASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service backed down from its plan to eliminate Saturday mail delivery because Congress barred it, officials said Wednesday.

But its governing board said it’s not possible for the financially ailing agency to meet cost-cutting goals without altering its delivery schedule. Delaying “responsible changes,” the board said, only makes it more likely that the Postal Service “may become a burden” to taxpayers.

The Postal Service said in February that it planned to switch to five-day-a-week deliveries beginning in August for everything except packages as a way to hold down losses.

But that announcement was a gamble. The agency essentially was asking Congress to drop from spending legislation the longtime ban on five-day-only delivery. Congress did not do that when it passed a spending measure last month.

“By including restrictive language … Congress has prohibited implementation of a new national delivery schedule for mail and package,” the postal Board of Governors said in a statement Wednesday.

“Although disappointed with this congressional action, the board will follow the law and has directed the Postal Service to delay implementation of its new delivery schedule until legislation is passed that provides the Postal Service with the authority to implement a financially appropriate and responsible delivery schedule,” it said.

The board made the decision in a closed meeting Tuesday.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related Posts

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.