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| Postal Service to stop delivering mail on Saturdays - USA TODAY Posted: 06 Feb 2013 09:13 AM PST WASHINGTON -- The Postal Service took another major step in its battle for financial viability Wednesday, announcing plans to halt Saturday delivery of first-class mail. Postmaster General Patrick Donahue said package delivery, which has seen growth in recent years as online purchasing booms, will continue when the plan is implemented in August. He said the plan will save $2 billion annually. "It's an important part of our strategy to return to financial stability," he said. The announcement drew mixed reviews on Capitol Hill, where USPS discussions on the subject of Saturday delivery have drawn fierce opposition in the past. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Ranking Member Tom Coburn M.D., R-Okla., sent a letter to leaders of both chambers of Congress supporting Donahue's plan. Issa and Coburn, the top Republicans on committees with jurisdiction over USPS, called the plan "common-sense reform." But some lawmakers from rural states more reliant on six-day mail delivery expressed frustration with the decision. "This is bad news for Alaskans and small business owners who rely on timely delivery to rural areas," said Democratic Sen. Mark Begich, who said the decision would slow overall mail delivery time for things including Social Security checks. Begich said the Postal Service should have allowed Congress more time to find a legislative solution. The Senate passed a postal reform bill last year that would have prevented the elimination of Saturday delivery for at least two years, but the effort stalled in the House. "We wouldn't be in this situation if the House had done its job and passed a bill," Begich said. INTERACTIVE: What do you think? House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called postal reform a "pretty difficult" issue and recommitted the chamber to action to help shore up the solvency of the nation's mail system. "Congress needs to act. There's no question about that, and I hope that we'll act soon," he said. American Postal Workers Union president Cliff Guffey said he opposes Donahoe's plan, saying a solution must come from Congress. "USPS executives cannot save the Postal Service by tearing it apart," he said. The volume of First Class mail has declined sharply since 2008 as more people pay their bills on line. Last year the Postal Service had a $15.9 billion loss and defaulted on its pension plan contributions. USPS has also reached its borrowing limit, Donahue said. "It's put a tremendous financial pressure on the postal service," he said. The Postal Service previously had cut costs be eliminating 193,000 jobs and consolidating 200 mail processing centers. The service cutback will enable the postal service to cut more jobs, which Donahoe says can be done through retirements, buyouts and routine attrition. "We take no tax dollars. We do not want tax dollars," he said. Under the new schedule, post office hours will not change and post office boxes will continue to receive Saturday delivery, Donahoe said. The postal service expects growth in package delivery as e-commerce expands, he said. "America's mailing habits are changing," Donahoe said. "This makes common sense." The six-month lead time will allow businesses to adjust their production and delivery schedules, he said Donahoe said surveys indicate the public supports five-day delivery. The plan should have little impact on speed of delivery except for items that would have been delivered on Saturday, Donahue said. Last year, under pressure from Congress and local communities, the cash-strapped agency dropped plans to close thousands of post offices across the nation, instead deciding to trim operations at 13,000 offices. Saturday has the week's lowest daily volume and and more than a third of U.S. businesses are closed Saturday, USPS reports. Most businesses and households surveyed in a national Gallup Poll indicated Saturday would be the least disruptive day to eliminate mail delivery. USPS has faced billion-dollar deficits since 2007 attributed to a combination of the bad economy, the Internet and mandatory pre-funding of retiree health benefits. The agency in November reported an annual loss of a record $15.9 billion for the last budget year. The financial losses for the year, which ended Sept. 30, were more than triple the $5.1 billion loss in the previous year. Last year the agency was forced to default on billions in retiree health benefit prepayments to avert bankruptcy. The agency's biggest problem - and the majority of the red ink in 2012 - was not due to reduced mail flow but rather to mounting mandatory costs for future retiree health benefits, which made up $11.1 billion of the losses. Without that and other related labor expenses, the mail agency sustained an operating loss of $2.4 billion, lower than the previous year. The health payments are a requirement imposed by Congress in 2006 that the post office set aside $55 billion in an account to cover future medical costs for retirees. The idea was to put $5.5 billion a year into the account for 10 years. That's $5.5 billion the post office doesn't have. No other government agency is required to make such a payment for future medical benefits. Postal authorities wanted Congress to address the issue last year, but lawmakers finished their session without getting it done. So officials are moving ahead to accelerate their own plan for cost-cutting. The Postal Service is in the midst of a major restructuring throughout its retail, delivery and mail processing operations. Since 2006, it has cut annual costs by about $15 billion, reduced the size of its career workforce by 193,000 or by 28 percent, and has consolidated more than 200 mail processing locations, officials say. They say that while the change in the delivery schedule announced Wednesday is one of the actions needed to restore the financial health of the service, they still urgently need lawmakers to act. Officials say they continue to press for legislation that will give them greater flexibility to control costs and make new revenues. Contributing: Susan Davis; Natalie DiBlasio; Associated Press |
| Boy Scouts postpone decision on admitting gays - Los Angeles Times Posted: 06 Feb 2013 09:21 AM PST A decision on whether the Boy Scouts of America will keep its policy that excludes gay members and leaders will not be voted on until the organization's annual meeting in May. IRVING, Texas -- The Boy Scouts of America decided Wednesday to put off a decision on whether to lift a national ban of gay members and leaders, saying the issue of sexual orientation was too complex and needed more time for study. The decision to wait came after the organization recently announced that it would consider changing its policies and might allow local chapters to decide whether to admit gays as Scouts and leaders. "After careful consideration and extensive dialog within the Scouting family, along with comments from those outside the organization, the volunteer officers of the Boy Scouts of America's National Executive Board concluded that due to the complexity of this issue, the organization needs time for a more deliberate review of its membership policy," Deron Smith, the BSA director of public relations, said in a statement. '; jQuery(document).ready(function(){ jQuery('#story-body-text').append(muskalsig); }); Boy Scouts are expected to address gay ban  Boy Scouts' opposition to background checks let pedophiles in  Groups fight over Scouts' ban on gays with a petition and prayer "To that end, the executive board directed its committees to further engage representatives of Scouting's membership and listen to their perspectives and concerns. This will assist the officers' work on a resolution on membership standards," he stated. The approximately 1,400 voting members of the national council will take action on the resolution at the national meeting in May in Grapevine, Texas, he said. It was the Scouts that put the issue back on the agenda for the current executive board meeting, held in its headquarters in Irving. But the move also came amid declining membership, questions by corporate sponsors and public pressure from activists who oppose the current national ban. "Today the Boy Scouts of America have chosen to remain irrelevant by delaying the vote," said James Dale, who was expelled from the Scouts in 1990 for being openly gay. "For over 23 years, since I was expelled from the Scouts, I have held out hope that the Boy Scouts would end their discriminatory policy. With each passing day the Scouts will continue to lose members, sponsors and funding. No parent or child should associate with an organization that sends a toxic message telling children they are immoral if they are gay." GLAAD, the nation's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy group, condemned the decision to wait. "An organization that serves youth and chooses to intentionally hurt dedicated young people and hard-working parents not only flies in the face of American principles, but the principles of being a Boy Scout," GLAAD President Herndon Graddick stated. "The Boy Scouts of America is choosing to ignore the cries of millions, including religious institutions, current Scouting families, and corporate sponsors, but these cries will not be silenced. We're living in a culture where hurting young gay people because of who they are is unpopular and discriminatory. They had the chance to end the pain this ban has caused to young people and parents; they chose to extend the pain." Those seeking to keep the ban were also vocal. A majority of the Boy Scout organizations are sponsored by local churches, many of which have religious objections to homosexuals. About 100 people gathered outside Boy Scouts headquarters in suburban Dallas carrying signs that said "Save our boys from homosexual acts;" "God votes no gays" and "Don't invite sin into the camp." Texas Values, a conservative group that organized a prayer vigil this week in support of keeping gays out of the Scouts, said the Scouts organization was right to delay a decision. "It's a temporary victory," Jonathan Saenz said of Wednesday's vote. "Good for them -- they're obviously listening. We are encouraged and we're glad they're going to delay the decision. When you deal with such fundamental principles, it's not something you want to tinker with overnight." Robert Davis, 48, of Benbrook, Texas, wore his Longhorn Council Scouting uniform and brought his two sons to the protest Wednesday. "I think it's a good sign," he said of the organization's vote. "The Boy Scouts of America is one of the last moral high grounds in this country. I hate to see it die." Among politicians, both President Obama and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have been part of the debate. "My attitude is that gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does in every institution and walk of life," said Obama, who as U.S. president is the honorary president of BSA, in a Sunday interview with CBS. Perry, the author of the book "On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting For," said in a speech Saturday that "to have popular culture impact 100 years of their standards is inappropriate." ALSO: Gov. Christie eats a doughnut with Letterman Police: Concealed-carry coach who killed student is a 'victim' Florida judge denies request to postpone George Zimmerman trial |
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