Congress up in arms over Postal Service delivery cuts

A pair of key congressmen today said they support the U.S. Postal Service's plan to halt Saturday delivery service of most mailers, letters and catalogs, but several other members are quite unhappy with the plan.

A number of congressmen today decried the decision as bad for their constituents. They also said it's the purview of Congress -- not the Postal Service -- to make such decisions, and some placed the blame on the House of Representatives for failing to act last year.

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Patrick R. Donahoe, postmaster general and CEO of the Postal Service, said today that the quasi-governmental agency is in no financial position to keep Saturday service. The Postal Service must finance its own operations, without receiving tax dollars, but it must also follow budget mandates passed by Congress. Last year, it reported an annual loss of a record $15.9 billion and forecast more red ink in 2013.

Given the circumstances, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., released a letter in support of the plan. "This common-sense reform would save the Postal Service more than two billion annually," they wrote.

As the top Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, respectively -- the committees that oversee the postal service -- their support is key. Other congressmen on those committees, however, had negative reactions to the plan.

Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statement he was "disappointed" with the decision but found it hard to blame the Postal Service.

"I have long argued that Congress should reduce the number of service mandates it places on the Postal Service so that the Postmaster General and his team can more easily adjust operations to reflect the changing demand for the products and services they offer," he said. "While I welcome the Postal Service's intention to preserve Saturday package delivery under the proposal announced today, I would much prefer that any effort to move to a five-day mail delivery schedule occur in an orderly manner similar to the process the Senate approved last year."

• U.S. Postal Service: Saturday letter delivery to end in August

Carper last year co-authored bipartisan legislation that would have required the Postal Service to take other, aggressive cost-cutting measures for two years before resorting to five-day mail delivery. The bill passed in the Senate, but the House did not vote on it. Carper said one of his top priorities this year is reviving negotiations over the postal reform legislation.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Me., a senior Republican on the committee on who co-authored last year's Postal Service legislation, was more critical. Cutting service, she said in a statement, should "be the last resort, not the Postal Service's first choice. The Postal Service's decision to eliminate Saturday delivery is inconsistent with current law and threatens to further jeopardize its customer base."

Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, another committee member, called the move "bad news for Alaskans and small business owners who rely on timely delivery to rural areas."

"The Postal Service should have allowed Congress to address this issue through the legislative process," he said. "We wouldn't be in this situation if the House had done its job and passed a bill."

Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., another committee member, similarly said, "Due to the House's inaction, the Postal Service is now facing crippling deficits. While I agree the Postal Service needs to cut costs, their plan to end Saturday delivery cannot move forward without Congressional approval."

Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government -- another committee with Postal Service jurisdiction -- said there should be real "comprehensive reform" rather than piecemeal efforts.

"It is unfortunate that the U.S. Postal Service has made a unilateral decision to move to five-day delivery in a matter of months when serious questions remain as to whether piecemeal efforts like this one will do anything to secure the Postal Service's long-term viability," he said. "Furthermore, this move circumvents the clear will of Congress as expressed in the law over three decades."

Rep. Janice Hahn, D-Calif., meanwhile, said she was "deeply troubled" by the way the cutback in service may impact her constituents, particularly seniors.

"There are a lot of people in my community who depend on six-day delivery for important time-sensitive mail," she said. "I am particularly disturbed by what effects this decision might have on our seniors. While I understand the current budgetary challenges of this decision, these cuts cannot be made at the expense of our most vulnerable."

House Speaker John Boehner today expressed sympathy for the Postal Service's dilemma without saying whether he supported the plan.

"They're charged with running the post office," he said. "But yet the Congress in its wisdom has tied their hands every which way in order for them to actually run the post office in a revenue neutral way. And so Congress needs to act. There's no question about that. And I hope that we'll act soon."

[mailmanmike325]

in 2006 gw bush enacted laws to start to wipe out the P.O. Wiping out this dept is the wish of Republicans, not the american people!!!

[davidd5063]

Also, the postal service IS a Federal Agency established under FEDERAL LAW. Just because it's established to be self-funding, doesn't keep it from being a Federal Agency. NO PRIVATE business could operate the way they do, lose the money the do, and remain in business - also a good way to identify federal agencies.

[davidd5063]

While Sat. delivery could be cut, the total savings is not that significant and just delays the REAL WASTE - all the rinky dink rural post offices across the country doing nothing but providing some old Post Master with a regular check. Many of these rural post offices don't even DELIVER mail anymore - their routes have already been moved to the larger offices for efficiency - the post office is just there to support the employee.

[stamicrach]

The Post Office is not a Federal government agency.

So; where do these Congressmen get the idea the decisions made by the Post Office come "under the purview" of Congress.?

Evidently they are not satisfied with all the dysfunction they have created every time they open their mouths regarding just about everything.

Our current Congress and Senate have proven over the last four years that they could screw up a one-piece puzzle,

Don't be fooled by anything Obama has to say in his State of the Union speech or Rubio's rebuttal.

We already know the State of the Union; IT'S DISINTEGRATING BEFORE OUR VERY EYES.!!!!!

[Larnan5]

Washington intends to buy 2,443, F 35 planes at a price tag of $382 billion.

Add in the $650 billion that the Government Accountability Office estimates is needed to operate and maintain the aircraft, and the total cost reaches a staggering $1 trillion.

This makes the problems with the post office, a very valuable and exxential service for tens of millions of citizens insignificant.

[OldTimeTruth]

Just some food for thought, congress will not let the Post office bid on shipping contracts like FedX and others do. Talk about tieing your hands behind your back. Congress needs to get of their lazy ??? and do something right for once.

[OldTimeTruth]

Congress needs to get up in arms over themselves and not the Post Office. They have had years to fix this. Now people are going to lose their jobs. The GOP is the most worthless of the bunch. We need to clean the house in 2014!

[mrleet60]

The postal service is required to remain "revenue neutral" - they are not allowed to make a profit. The requirement to fund retiree health care costs for 3/4 of a century was ridiculous; no other business in existence has such a requirement; even the Medicare fund is not held to this requirement. It is and will bankrupt the USPS if no change is made.

Aside from this requirement, the USPS is one of the most horribly run businesses I have witnessed. Witness the gas, oil, maintenance costs wasted driving box trucks for delivery and stopping/starting every dozen feet to distribute mail. A signifigant amount of money would be saved parking the truck and walking the route as was done in the past. The right hand drive jeep vehicles were much better on gas and I can't believe there are not more economical alternatives for delivery. In many countries in Europe it is not uncommon to see a mail carrier riding a bicycle while delivering.

Witness most facilities with 3-4 counter stations, that are rarel (if ever) manned with more than 1-2 clerks. In my small town, the USPS had an existing post office renovated 5 years ago, the appearance of the renovated facility indicated a signifigant amount of money was spent on the renovation. 18 months later they purchased and renovated a abandoned store in a strip mall, less than 3 miles away - both facilities remain open and neither the initial renovation nor the subesquent acquisition was needed. More money wasted.

[sseyfried]

Forget about how much money it takes to send a letter or a package anywhere. While I use the internet and email, I also understand the value of being able to send a Private letter to anyone, anywhere. Ask yourself how well your internet/email worked after your last earthquake, hurricane or other natural disaster. No power no electronic communication. Ask the people in these area's how long it took to get back their electricity after Katrina or Sandy, and yet the mail and the Letter Carriers that deliver it were out on the streets the next day. Ask the people of China, or any other country that has experienced having there internet/email shut off by their governments. There is a reason that the Postal Service is in the Contitution, we need a system of communication that involves the human interaction, don't be fooled freedom thrives in a open environment, while electronic communication is convienent, it is vulnerable as we have seen in the past and unfortunately I fear, in the future

[Cowmpound]

How well does the mail work during Katrina?

[RedDeath50]

@Cowmpound...
Very well. The USPS issued wet suits and SCUBA gear to get the mail out.

So, how well did email work during Katrina?

[stamicrach]

How many of you know that the Post Office is not a Federal operation.?

How many of you know that the Federal government requires the Post Office to pay multiple millions of dollars to them each year just for the privilege of being to continue to be allowed to do so.

When it comes to the Federal Government and the increased amount of blood they suck from businesses (unless you are a major contributor to them) and taxpayers; the media should be broadcasting "We have met the enemy, and it is the Government".!!

Most days it is hard to fathom that 300 million people will let 535 people drag them further down every day.!!

[Bojax39]

stamicrach says: "How many of you know that the Post Office is not a Federal operation.?"

More than you think, I'll bet. :-)