PRC Expects Postal Five-Day Plan This Month

The Postal Regulatory Commission is expecting the U.S. Postal Service to submit a plan for eliminating Saturday delivery later this month.

Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services, PRC Chairman Ruth Goldway outlined how the USPS is legally obligated to submit to the Commission submit any proposal of this magnitude.

“When the Postal Service determines that there should be a change in the nature of postal services which will generally affect service on a nationwide, or substantially nationwide basis, it must submit a proposal to the Commission requesting an advisory opinion on the change,” said Goldway. “This requirement was established by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, and was retained by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006.”

Goldway also noted that the USPS must also seek Congressional approval for cutting Saturday delivery.

Goldway said the Commission could take six to nine months to develop its advisory opinion depending on its complexity.
Click for more http://prc.gov/prc-docs/home/whatsnew/RYG_Testimony_101110_664.pdf

The USPS, which has been steadily losing money and mail volume for some time, has been pushing heavily for a delivery cutback for more than a year. In Jan. 2009, Postmaster General Jack Potter testified before another Senate panel that USPS finances would not permit it to keep operating six days a week.

Earlier this month, Potter repeated this idea and further proposed a small but unspecified rate increase in 2011. Click here for more http://directmag.com/postal/usps-delivery-cut-rate-hike-0303/index.html