USPS Grants Saturday Mail Delivery A Stay Of Execution After All

Break out the high fives and order the cake — the United States Postal Service says it won’t be killing off Saturday mail delivery. At least, it’s not going to do that anytime soon. The agency had threatened to stop the service out of budgetary concerns, the main concern being that it doesn’t have much cash.

That concern hasn’t gone away, however, so it’s unlikely that anyone at the USPS is celebrating this turn of events. The decision to halt implementation of the plan to end Saturday service is because of the Continuing Resolution recently passed by Congress. That bit of legislature funds government operations in lieu of a budget.

According to a statement on the USPS site, the Board of Governors of the USPS  met yesterday to discuss  what it calls “restrictive language” in the Continuing Resolution, which prohibits the five-day delivery schedule it wanted to put into effect starting Aug. 5.

Although disappointed with this Congressional action, the Board will follow the law and has directed the Postal Service to delay implementation of its new delivery schedule until legislation is passed that provides the Postal Service with the authority to implement a financially appropriate and responsible delivery schedule. The Board believes that Congress has left it with no choice but to delay this implementation at this time. The Board also wants to ensure that customers of the Postal Service are not unduly burdened by ongoing uncertainties and are able to adjust their business plans accordingly.

While Saturday mail isn’t dead yet, but the statement notes that the Board is still quite in favor of a new national delivery schedule, in an effort to save about $2 billion a year. So eat that celebratory cake with gusto, Saturday mail fans, while you can.

Previously: Post Office Announces End Of Saturday Delivery; 63% Of Americans Shrug 

Statement from the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors [USPS]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.