After running modest profits from FY2004 through FY2006, USPS lost $25.4 billion between FY2007 and FY2011. Were it not for congressional action to reduce a statutorily required payment to the Retiree Health Benefits Fund (RHBF), USPS would have lost an additional $9.5 billion. In the first three quarters of FY2012, USPS had an operating loss of $11.5 billion. The bleak economic forecast for USPS has prompted its leaders, Congress, and the public to suggest methods that may increase revenue or reduce expenses. Among these suggestions is to reduce the number of delivery days from six to five. Congress also may authorize USPS to determine its delivery schedule. Eliminating a delivery day alone, however, would not solve USPS's financial challenges and could reduce USPS sales and revenue, lead to service delays, prompt job loss at USPS, or affect vulnerable populations who rely on six-day delivery. Members of the 112 th Congress have introduced nine bills ( H.R. 2309 ; H.R. 2434 ; H.R. 3591 ; H.R. 3744 ; S. 1010 ; S. 1573 ; S. 1625 ; S. 1789 ; and S. 1853 ) and one resolution ( H.Res. 137 ) regarding six-day mail delivery. 2434 , S. 1573 ), include language requiring USPS to continue delivering mail six days per week. The advisory opinion estimated that USPS could save $1.7 billion in annual net savings by eliminating Saturday delivery. In The President's Plan for Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction , released in September 2011, the Office of Management and Budget supported authorizing USPS to eliminate a delivery day. H.Res. 137 that, if passed, would express the sense of the House that six-day mail delivery continue:
Whereas Social Security is the primary or sole source of income for many senior citizens, and any delay in the delivery of their Social Security checks would make it difficult for them to purchase even essential items, such as food and medicine; and
Whereas reducing mail delivery service to 5 days a week would inevitably cause not only delays in the delivery of mail, but higher postal costs, due to the many hours of additional overtime that the Postal Service would require in order to handle the resulting back-up of mail; Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of its 6-day mail delivery service. 137 was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. 2309

On June 23, 2011, Representative Darrell Issa introduced H.R. Additionally, six months after enactment of H.R. S. 1010

On May 17, 2011, Senator Thomas R. Carper introduced S. 1010 , which—among other provisions—would give USPS authority to move to five-day delivery. S. 1625

On September 23, 2011, Senator John McCain introduced a companion bill to H.R. Once that 24-month period had elapsed, USPS could move to five-day delivery after it had:
identified "customers and communities for whom the change may have a disproportionate negative impact;" developed a plan to "ameliorate" the anticipated "negative impact" on the disadvantaged customers "to the maximum extent possible, which may include "providing or expanding access to mailboxes for periodical mailers" on non-delivery days; implemented all other measures discussed in the bill that aimed to increase revenues or reduce costs and USPS determined whether the implementation of these measures eliminated the need to reduce the number of delivery days; submitted a report demonstrating that it met the above preconditions to the House and Senate committees of jurisdiction, the PRC, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO); requested and received a GAO study examining whether USPS implemented appropriate cost savings and revenue increasing measures, and whether the elimination of a delivery day remained necessary for the USPS to "become profitable by fiscal year 2015" and "achieve long-term financial solvency"; and requested an advisory opinion from the PRC that examined the Postal Service's plans to ameliorate the "disproportionate negative impact" of five-day delivery on certain communities as well as USPS's actions to increase revenues and decrease costs. 3591 and S. 1853 are companion bills that include a collection of new authorities for USPS as well as language that would prohibit a move to five-day delivery. 3744 , the Rural Service Protection Act, would require USPS to maintain current levels of delivery in rural areas for five years following enactment of the bill. Both the House and Senate committee versions of the Financial Service and General Government Appropriations Act, 2012 ( H.R. The USPS study determined that the elimination of a delivery day could save $3.5 billion per year. H.R. Customer Reliance on Six-day Delivery

Congress may choose to remove the six-day delivery provision from appropriation legislation and grant USPS greater flexibility to eliminate delivery days if the service finds such action to be beneficial economically.
After running modest profits from FY2004 through FY2006, USPS lost $25.4 billion between FY2007 and FY2011. Were it not for congressional action, USPS would have lost an additional $9.5 billion. In the first three quarters of FY2012, USPS had an $11.5 billion operational loss. USPS leaders, Congress, and the public have suggested methods that may increase revenue or reduce expenses. Among these suggestions is reducing the number of days per week that USPS delivers mail from six to five.
Members of the 112th Congress have introduced nine bills (H.R. 2309; H.R. 2434; H.R. 3591; H.R. 3744; S. 1625; S. 1010; S. 1573; S. 1789; and S. 1853) and one resolution (H.Res. 137) regarding six-day mail delivery. Companion bills H.R. 2309 (introduced by Representative Darrell Issa) and S. 1625 (introduced by Senator John McCain) would grant USPS the authority to move to five-day delivery. H.R. 2309, as ordered to be reported from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, would require USPS to wait six months after enactment to begin the process of eliminating a delivery day. S. 1010, introduced by Senator Thomas R. Carper, would also give USPS authority to move to five-day delivery. S. 1789, introduced by Senators Susan Collins and Joseph Lieberman, would allow USPS to eliminate a delivery day only after two years and the completion of a USPS study that identified customers "for whom the change may have a disproportionate, negative impact," among other conditions. Companion bills H.R. 3591 and S. 1853 would prohibit a move to six-day delivery. H.R. 3744, the Rural Service Protection Act, would require USPS to maintain current levels of delivery in rural areas for five years following enactment of the bill. H.Res. 137 would express the sense of the House of Representatives that USPS should maintain six-day delivery. Both the House and Senate versions of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2012 (H.R. 2434, S. 1573), include language that would require USPS to continue delivering mail six days per week.
In The President's Plan for Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction, released in September 2011, the Office of Management and Budget supported authorizing USPS to eliminate a delivery day.
Some lawmakers say the elimination of a delivery day could prompt further reductions in mail volume and lead to an economic "death spiral" for USPS. Other lawmakers argue that USPS should have the flexibility to eliminate six-day delivery if necessary to make USPS economically viable. Congress may choose to legislate the number of USPS delivery days or authorize USPS to determine its delivery schedule. The six-day delivery requirement ensures the delivery of mail to most U.S. residents on every day except Sunday—including delivery of infant formula, prescriptions, and periodicals. Authorizing USPS to eliminate a delivery day could reduce delivery costs and improve USPS's challenging economic condition. Studies that examined the elimination of a delivery day estimated that USPS could save between $3.5 billion (USPS study) and $1.7 billion (Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) study) annually. Such action, however, may reduce patronage, lead to job losses at USPS, or harm underserved communities that rely on mail delivery. Elimination of a delivery day alone will not solve USPS's budget troubles.