Postal Bill Clears Senate Committee, Mailers Left Disappointed

A proposed rescue plan for the financially strapped U.S. Postal Service took a step forward Thursday when a Senate committee passed a bill that would end Saturday delivery and make permanent a recent, temporary increase in the cost of stamps. The bipartisan bill would also restructure the Postal Service's health insurance program and a $5.5 billion annual payment the agency must make toward health costs of future retirees, two shifts that would cut significant costs. Commercial mailers, meanwhile, oppose a provision to allow higher postal rates that's designed to bring the mail agency billions of dollars in new revenue.