Lawmakers Fight For Saturday Delivery

Even though legislation allowing the U.S. Postal Service to stop delivering mail on Saturdays has advanced for consideration on the House floor, lawmakers still are fighting for language to preserve six-day delivery.

Reps. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., Jo Ann Emerson, D-Mo., and Sam Graves, D-Mo., this week announced plans to offer an amendment to legislation sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., that would prevent USPS from dropping a delivery day. Issa's bill, which would adjust delivery schedules and the agency's pay and benefits structure, passed a full committee vote last week and could move to the House floor.

In a letter to House members, the lawmakers wrote that cutting Saturday delivery would affect Americans who rely on regular mail service as well as result in lost jobs for postal employees. Rural letter carriers alone would see up to 50,000 positions disappear, they said.

The Postal Service has been pushing the five-day delivery plan as part of their overall cost-saving strategy. Issa's bill is the first to receive serious consideration at the committee level, though senators invested in postal issues promise that comprehensive legislation is coming soon.