The Senate has approved its version of the Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government through the end of the fiscal year. Significantly, the CR maintained the appropriations rider which is generally interpreted to require the USPS to provide six day delivery service. This version now goes to the House which is expected to approve the Senate version of the CR. There continues to be some debate over this issue. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has asserted that the proposal by the USPS to deliver parcels and certain other items on Saturday amounts to the "same level of service" that is part of what is in the CR.
Others disagree. My opinion is that maintaining the appropriations language in the CR that has been part of the law for many years now will make it very difficult for the USPS to make the case for ending Saturday delivery in August. What shoudl you tell your customers? Absent passage of separate postal legislation, I woudl expect Saturday delivery of all mail to continue. This may have to be resolved in the courts, however.
- Ben