Reid: Postal Service move would be 'crippling blow'

By Peter Schroeder - 02/07/13 02:03 PM ET

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) blasted the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS) attempt to scrap Saturday delivery as a "short-sighted measure" that would deliver a "crippling blow" to millions of Americans and small businesses.

In a statement, Reid said the Postmaster General relied on "flawed legal guidance" in claiming the USPS has the power to halt Saturday deliveries, and insisted that only Congress can make that change.

"Given the importance of the Post Office to communities in Nevada and across our nation, such a drastic policy change cannot be enacted without approval from Congress," he said. "The Postmaster Generals’ actions have damaged his reputation with Congressional leaders and further complicates Congressional efforts to pass comprehensive postal reform legislation in the future.”

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe announced Thursday that the USPS would no longer distribute letters and other pieces of first-class mail on Saturdays beginning in August. Facing billions of dollars in losses, Donahoe maintained the move was necessary. Roughly 70 percent of the $15.9 billion of USPS's losses stemmed from defaults on required prepayments for retiree healthcare.

“We cannot put our head in the sand and say, ‘Well, jeez, let’s hope this problem goes away,’ ” Donahoe said at a news conference. “Hope is not a strategy.”

The move immediately earned fierce recriminations from Democrats and unions, who argued that only Congress can alter the mail delivery schedule. For about 30 years, Congress has required six-day postal delivery by including a rider in an appropriations bill. Since Congress is technically not operating under regular appropriations legislation but instead a continuing resolution, Donahoe argued the USPS can make the move.

Republicans backed the USPS decision Thursday. House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) contended the move was a responsible step toward getting the USPS back on track.

Donahoe also continued to press lawmakers to pass a comprehensive postal reform bill, and Reid also tossed barbs at the House after such a legislative effort came up short in 2012.

"This unfortunate scenario could have been wholly prevented if the House had passed the Senate's bipartisan postal reform bill in the last Congress," he said.

The Senate cleared a bipartisan postal bill last April, but House Republican leaders failed to bring their preferred postal overhaul to the floor. Both parties have renewed their commitment to work toward a postal fix in the new Congress.