A closer look at how this pronouncement came to be and the laws behind it suggest that there is a very good chance that Saturday delivery will continue beyond August.
In Washington speak; the Post Office has been funded by a continuing resolution that is passed annually. As part of this rider, Congress typically mandates that delivery must continue on Saturday. Because of the current budget mess in DC, the resolution is expiring in March. Therefore, the accompanying mandate that Saturday delivery service must be upheld is expiring as well.
It is believed the Postmaster General took this opportunity to announce the discontinuance Saturday service as a way to push Congress towards true reform. At some point Congress will need to pass another continuing resolution and chances are this will continue to mandate Saturday delivery.
Putting aside for now as to whether Saturday delivery should be continued, all of this is obscuring the problem that comprehensive reform of the postal service is required. Eliminating Saturday delivery would not come close to solving the problem. Unfortunately much of this is tied to the overall budget negotiations, which show no sign of being settled anytime soon. Hopefully our elected officials can get their act together before a crisis forces changes that could have been avoided if they were done soon.
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