GAO Says Postal Service Can’t Cut Saturday Service

The Government Accountability Office said the U.S. Postal Service doesn’t have the legal authority to stop Saturday delivery, Bloomberg News reported.

In a letter to Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.), who requested the GAO look into the issue, the agency said the postal service is bound by law to deliver mail six days a week, Bloomberg said.

The GAO went on to say the service is incorrect in its interpretation  that a temporary measure used to fund U.S. government operations released it from delivering mail six days a week, according to the news agency.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe previously said the postal service, which lost $15.9 billion last year, can make the change without approval from Congress, if necessary.

The change would cut 22,500 full-time jobs and reduce costs by as much as $2 billion a year, Donahoe said.