U.S. Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, condemned last week’s decision by the Postal Service to cut six-day-a-week delivery as of August.

“I strongly disagree with the Postal Service’s outrageous decision to end Saturday delivery,” he stated in a release. “It’s well known that the Postal Service has a budget problem, but leadership within the organization has failed in its duty to grow and seek out new opportunities to raise revenue, instead turning to rural areas for service cuts that do little to solve the problem.”

Mr. Owens said the Postal Service has failed to pursue long-term contracts with the government, instead allowing private entities such as Federal Express and United Parcel Service to win the edge. He noted the majority of the Postal Service’s budget shortfall is attributable to a prefunding requirement, initiated by Congress in 2006, for employee health benefits, in addition to overpayments the Postal Service made to employee pensions.

The congressman said he co-sponsored legislation to address the funding gaps.

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