The Detroit Free Press
The U.S. Postal Service will move this month toward reducing mail delivery from six days a week to five, a change Postmaster General John Potter has said is critical to reducing the agency's massive debt.
Potter said Monday he'll submit a formal request by the end of this month to the Postal Regulatory Commission, which must issue an advisory opinion on any change in mail service that would have national impact.
Once Potter makes the request, the commission plans to hold public hearings around the nation and seek expert testimony. Even if the commission approves the dropped day, the Postal Service also needs congressional consent: Federal law requires six-day delivery.
Potter is to release the details today of a $4.8-million study that projects how steeply mail volume will fall and how deeply the Postal Service will be in debt by 2020. The Postal Service already has borrowed $10 billion from the U.S. Treasury. Potter said it expects to borrow another $3 billion this year, leaving it just $2 billion under the $15-billion cap set by Congress.
Potter said Monday he'll submit a formal request by the end of this month to the Postal Regulatory Commission, which must issue an advisory opinion on any change in mail service that would have national impact.
Once Potter makes the request, the commission plans to hold public hearings around the nation and seek expert testimony. Even if the commission approves the dropped day, the Postal Service also needs congressional consent: Federal law requires six-day delivery.
Potter is to release the details today of a $4.8-million study that projects how steeply mail volume will fall and how deeply the Postal Service will be in debt by 2020. The Postal Service already has borrowed $10 billion from the U.S. Treasury. Potter said it expects to borrow another $3 billion this year, leaving it just $2 billion under the $15-billion cap set by Congress.
