Postal Service keeping Saturday mail for now

The US Postal Service is keeping Saturday mail for now — but blames Congress for not allowing the move.

In a statement released this morning, the cash-strapped agency's Board of Governors said the stopgap budget recently passed by lawmakers continues a long-standing ban on reducing delivery days.

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The Postal Service must continue six-day delivery as a result.

“The board believes that Congress has left it with no choice but to delay this implementation at this time,” board members said in the statement.

The board made the decision in a closed-door meeting yesterday.

Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe announced plans in February to end Saturday mail, with the exception of packages, beginning in August as a way to hold down losses.

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Congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said Donahoe had overstepped his authority, although the proposal met with some support from GOP lawmakers.

House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., told The Hill today he was not happy that the Postal Service was backing down.

“Despite some assertions, it’s quite clear that special-interest lobbying and intense political pressure played a much greater role in the Postal Service’s change of heart than any real or perceived barrier to implementing what had been announced," he said.