Another bill is in the works to eliminate delivery of mail on Saturdays, except packages

A powerful House committee chairman has proposed a new postal reform bill that would allow the U.S. Postal Service to eliminate Saturday mail delivery. Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California, who heads the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is seeking Democratic votes by allowing USPS "to scrap an annual $6 billion payment to pre-fund health costs for future retirees, a major concession that is likely to help the bill’s chances in the Senate," Lisa Rein reports for The Washington Post. "But Issa’s new draft also keeps proposals that have divided lawmakers. Democrats are likely to oppose any language allowing layoffs, and members of both parties who represent rural districts have pushed back against five-day delivery."

Last year the Senate passed a postal reform bill that would have guaranteed six-day delivery for two years, but Issa's bill never got a vote in the full House. Aides told Rein that his new bill won't be formally introduced for months, while he tries to work with labor unions, rural representatives and other groups that fought him last year.

Issa's draft would allow USPS "to move forward with five-day delivery of letters and second- and third-class mail but continue delivering packages six days for at least five years," Rein reports. That resembles "a failed attempt by Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe to drop Saturday mail delivery without congressional approval." USPS makes money delivering packages. (Read more)