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US Postal Service may scrap Saturday deliveries

The U.S. Postal Service was expected to move towards reducing its delivery service from six days a week to five, according to reports Tuesday.

Postmaster General John Potter said a dramatic reshaping of the agency and significant changes to mail delivery were critical to reducing its massive debt, USA Today reported.

These changes could mean an end to Saturday deliveries, higher postage-stamp prices, longer delivery times for letters and packages, and the potential for future layoffs.

The agency experienced a 13 percent drop in mail volume last fiscal year, losing $3.8 billion, and the projections released later Tuesday anticipate even steeper drops over the next 10 years, The Washington Post reported.

It was believed emails and cheaper mail options were responsible for the drop in customers using their signature first-class mail service.

Potter raised the issue of cost-cutting last year, but failed to convince lawmakers.

The postmaster general also wants Congress to reverse a 2006 law requiring the agency to prepay its retiree health benefits to the tune of $5 billion per year, according to The Washington Post.

The Postal Service had already borrowed $10 billion from the U.S. Treasury, and expects to borrow another $3 billion this year, leaving it just $2 billion under the $15 billion cap set by Congress, USA Today reported.