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Postal Service Halts Push to End Delivery of Mail on Saturdays

WASHINGTON — The Postal Service on Wednesday backed away from its plan to stop Saturday mail delivery, criticizing Congress for taking the cost-cutting proposal off the table.

In a statement, the Postal Service’s Board of Governors said it came to the decision Tuesday in response to a measure passed by Congress in March requiring it to continue delivering mail six days a week. “The board believes that Congress has left it with no choice but to delay this implementation at this time,” the Postal Service said.

Congress included the requirement in legislation it passed to keep the government financed through September. It was the latest salvo in the power struggle between the Postal Service and lawmakers over solving the agency’s financial woes.

The board called on Congress to allow the Postal Service to make its own decisions about the future of the agency. “It is not possible for the Postal Service to meet significant cost reduction goals without changing its delivery schedule — any rational analysis of our current financial condition and business options leads to this conclusion,” it said.

Faced with declining mail volume and other financial troubles, the agency announced in February its intention to end Saturday mail delivery beginning in August as part of a plan to save about $2 billion a year, prompting an outcry from lawmakers, postal unions and some business leaders.

Representative Gerald E. Connolly, Democrat of Virginia, a critic of the proposal, said the Postal Service’s decision on Wednesday validated his argument that it could not act without Congressional approval. “The U.S.P.S. finally admitted it had no legal justification to circumvent existing law and unilaterally implement a change in delivery service that many believe will not only disrupt mail service, but also exacerbate U.S.P.S. revenue losses and contribute to the decline of this constitutionally mandated service to all Americans,” he said in a statement.

Sally Davidow, a spokeswoman for the American Postal Workers Union, said the agency’s main problem was the 2006 law mandating that it make sizable contributions to a health fund for future retirees, a requirement that costs it billions every year. “Congressional inaction is driving the Postal Service to the edge of bankruptcy, and the Postal Service can’t cut its way out of the crisis,” Ms. Davidow said.

Some business leaders welcomed the announcement. Donna Harman, president and chief executive of the American Forest and Paper Association, whose members include the paper and packaging industries, had expressed concerns about the financial repercussions for businesses that rely on mail. “We were pleased with today’s announcement that the U.S.P.S. will delay its plans to eliminate Saturday mail delivery pending further Congressional action, as this reduction in service would have been shortsighted and harmful to their ability to serve customers,” she said through a spokeswoman.

Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California and a supporter of the plan to cut mail delivery to five days a week, accused the Postal Service of caving in to special interest groups.

“This reversal significantly undercuts the credibility of postal officials who have told Congress that they were prepared defy political pressure and make difficult but necessary cuts,” he said in a statement.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 12 of the New York edition with the headline: Postal Service Halts Push to End The Delivery of Mail on Saturdays. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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