Representative expresses his disappointment
Washington -- Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, is joining with some other members of Congress to find a legislative fix that can avert plans by the U.S. Postal Service to eliminate Saturday mail deliveries effective Aug. 1. Under the Postal Service plan announced Wednesday, prescription drugs and packages would still be delivered on Saturday.
Rep. Cedric Richmond
But regular mail delivery would be cut from six days a week, including Saturday, to five-days a week with no service on Saturday and Sunday.
The Postal Service, which reported a $15.9 billion loss last year, said it had no choice. The end of regular Saturday mail deliveries will save $2 billion a year, according to the Postal Service.
Richmond said it's a shame Congress failed to act on legislation that would have made the Postal Service more viable, including a provision to stop what he and others called a mandate that it pay excessive fees for retiree health benefits. That change alone, Richmond said,, could produce a surplus for the Postal Service.
"I am extremely disappointed to learn that our U.S. Postal Service has decided to reduce their delivery services to the American people," Richmond said. "It's appalling that Congress left our Postal Service believing this was the only solution to alleviate their financial challenges. As an avid proponent of postal reform, I urge my colleagues in Congress to take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of six-day mail, and that includes legislative reform that strengthens, not weakens, our Postal Service."
Last year, the Senate voted to bar an end to Saturday service for two years. But the measure didn't pass the House.
For years, Congress has put a requirement into appropriations bills requiring six-day-a-week mail delivery. But Postal officials say that because Congress failed to pass appropriations bills for 2013, and is operating under temporary spending measures, it believes it's free to make the change.
However, it's all but certain that the end of Saturday mail deliver will be subject to a court challenge.
It's unclear how Wednesday's Postal Service announcement might effect Postal Service plans to close 223 of its 461 mail processing plants, including the New Orleans facility on Loyola Avenue. Its closing could affect 880 jobs, though many of those workers with seniority would be offered jobs at other postal facilities.
While Richmond joined other members of Congress to criticize the end of Saturday service on Aug. 1, some on Capitol Hill viewed it as the right move.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Ok., the lead Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, called the decision "common sense" reform.
"In his recent inaugural address, President (Barack) Obama spoke about the need to find real solutions to our nation's problems. Supporting the US Postal Service's plan to move forward with 5-day mail delivery is one such solution worthy of bipartisan support," the two lawmakers said in a joint letter.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, disagreed.
"The Postal Service is the linchpin of a $1 trillion mailing and mail-related industry that employs more than 8 million Americans in fields as diverse as direct mail, printing, catalog companies, magazine and newspaper publishing and paper manufacturing," Collins said. "A healthy Postal Service is not just important to postal customers but also to our national economy."
The Postal Service has been hard hit financially by the growing reliance on email, and online bill payments.