Holt Praises U.S. Postal Service Decision to Keep Saturday Delivery

uspsThe U.S. Postal Service said today it will be required to keep Saturday delivery because a recent bill passed by Congress prevents it from making the cost-cutting measure.

The Postal Service had planned to stop Saturday mail delivery in August, but continue package delivery Mondays through Saturdays.

“Although disappointed with this Congressional action, the USPS will follow the law and 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,” the agency said in a written statement.

Halting Saturday mail delivery would have saved $2 billion a year, the Postal Service said. The Postal Service said it plans to reopen negotiations with its unions, take other administrative actions to cut costs, and look for ways to increase revenue.

U.S. Rep. Rush Holt applauded the announcement that Saturday delivery will continue. Holt has repeatedly urged the Postal Service to keep Saturday service.

“The U.S. Postal Service has always been defined by its universality:  its commitment to going, in effect, every day to every address, rich or poor, rural or urban, commercial or residential,” Holt said. “By committing to continue six-day mail delivery, the U.S. Postal Service is preserving its unique place in America’s economy and culture. The ball is now in Congress’s court.  We must pass meaningful postal reform that helps the Postal Service return to firm financial footing.”

Holt is a cosponsor of H.R. 630, the Postal Service Protection Act, which would strengthen the Postal Service’s finances by ending a Congressional mandate that currently requires the USPS to prepay its pension obligations at a higher rate than other public and private organizations.