Postal Service backs off closing offices

WASHINGTON -- Bending to strong public opposition, the nearly bankrupt U.S. Postal Service yesterday backed off a plan to close thousands of rural post offices after May 15. It now proposes to keep them open, but with shorter hours.

The move to save 3,700 low-revenue post offices followed months of dissent from rural states and their lawmakers, who said the cost-cutting would hurt their communities the most. In recent weeks, rising opposition had led Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to visit some rural areas in a bid to ease fears about cuts that could slow delivery of prescription drugs, newspapers and other services.

In an election year, the angst over postal closings also extended to nearly half the senators, who in letters last week urged Donahoe to postpone closing any mail facility until Congress approves final postal overhaul legislation. The Senate passed a bill last month that would halt many of the closings; the House remains stalled over a separate bill allowing for aggressive cuts.

At a news briefing, Donahoe said he hoped the latest plan would help allay much of rural America's concern about postal cutbacks. He prodded Congress to act quickly on legislation that will allow the agency to move ahead with its broader multibillion-dollar cost-cutting effort and a planned return to profitability by 2015.

"We've listened to our customers in rural America, and we've heard them loud and clear -- they want to keep their post office open," he said. "We believe today's announcement will serve our customers' needs and allow us to achieve real savings to help the Postal Service return to long-term financial stability."

While no post office would be closed, more than 13,000 rural mail facilities could see operations cut by two to six hours.