Postmaster General to Congress: Let us end Saturday mail delivery

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - The head of the financially-struggling U.S. Postal Service says that there are two things that need to happen to get them back into the black.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe is asking Congress to allow them to ease the terms of pre-payments into a retiree health care fund, and eliminate mail delivery on Saturday.

He says that the Postal Service would continue package delivery on Saturday and keep offices open.

For customers, it's about convenience.

"I think a lot of people work during the week, and it's convenience for people to get to the post office on a Saturday,” one postal customer told 22News.

"It's a great convenience, but I think it's one of those things we could live without if budgets need to be cut in some way."

Donahoe says that the agency isn't asking Congress for money. Ending Saturday delivery and refinancing retirement health fund payments will put them $8 billion in the black.