It's official. No one would be upset by the end of Saturday mail. Not even the president of the United States.
President Barack Obama proposed a $20 billion rescue of the U.S. Postal Service as it approached its statutory limit on borrowing and potential default by the end of September 2011. His plan to save the Postal Service would, among other things, allow the agency to dump Saturday mail and reduce delivery to five days a week beginning in 2013.
See also: 7 Ways to Save the Postal Service
"The administration recognizes the enormous value of the U.S. Postal Service to the nation's commerce and communications, as well as the urgent need for reform to ensure its future viability," Obama said in his plan. " ... Bold action is needed to ensure that USPS can continue to operate in the short-run and achieve viability in the long run."
Obama Plan for the Postal Service
Obama's plan to save the Postal Service also called for refunding $6.9 billion in surplus contributions to the federal employee retirement fund, forgiving a scheduled $5.5 billion payment into its retiree health program, and allowing the agency to raise postage rates by a "modest" amount.
Obama said the reforms, including ditching Saturday mail, would save the Postal Service more than $20 billion over the course of several years.
"USPS faces a long-term, structural operating deficit that has been exacerbated by the precipitous drop in mail volume in the last few years due to the economic crisis and the continuing shift toward electronic communication," Obama said. "Absent legislative intervention, USPS will be insolvent ..."
Postal Service on Ending Saturday Mail
Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe called Obama's proposals to save the Postal Service "helpful recommendations."
"I would like to thank the President for acknowledging the enormous value of the United States Postal Service to the nation's commerce and communications. The President also recognized the urgent need for reform to ensure the Postal Service's future viability," Donahoe said.
See also: 5 Ways to Survive a Postal Service Shutdown
"The President has offered helpful recommendations to stabilize the Postal Service's financial crisis," Donahoe added. "We are looking forward to reviewing the plan in more detail and we are continuing to work with the White House and the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction on specific proposals that involve the Postal Service."
In the past, Postal Service executives have suggested mail delivery will eventually be cut to as few as three days a week.
Plan to End Saturday Mail Before Super Congress
Obama's proposals to save the Postal Service were contained in a much broader plan for economic growth and deficit reduction in September 2011. The plan, titled "Living Within Our Means and Investing in the Future," was to be considered by the Super Congress.
Obama said the plan to end Satuday mail and reform the Postal Service would reduce the federal deficit by $19 billion over 10 years.
The select group of 12 members of both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate were responsible for identifying ways to reduce the national debt by $1.5 trillion over 10 years.
The Super Congress, or super committee, was created under the Budget Control Act of 2011. The law was passed by the U.S. Congress in the first two days of August 2011 to increase the nation's $14.294 trillion debt ceiling in order to avoid a potential default. It was the fourth increase of the mandatory borrowing cap in Obama's first term.