Postal rescue plan passes
Dayton Daily News – The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed legislation that seeks to prevent many rural post offices and about 100 mailing processing centers from closing anytime soon and remedy some of the budget woes of the U.S. Postal Service.
Passed by a 62-37 vote, the bill would result in the postal service receiving an $11 billion refund for overpayments made to a federal fund to pay down debt and finance buyouts to 100,000 postal employees.
Saturday delivery, which the Postal Service sought to eliminate for an annual savings of about $3.1 billion, could continue for at least two years.
The bill also spares a minimum of 100 mail processing centers that were slated for closure for at least three years, and it places a moratorium on closures until Nov. 13 to avoid interfering with mail service during the election, said Lauren Kulik, a spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
