After the Senate passed its version of a rescue package for the US Postal Service at the end of April, Republicans controlling the House of Representatives had scheduled a debate for their postal reform bill for July.

But it now appears that the Republican leadership is instead turning its attention to measures offering more of an “election message” with their priority on retaking the White House this November.

It is believed that postal reform could now have to wait until the “lame duck session” of Congress this November/December, the period after the elections but before the next official term of Congress begins.

Reforms are needed to help the US Postal Service face up to its monumental annual losses, forecast to reach as much as $14bn this year, after mail volumes have dropped 25% since 2006, and pension and healthcare payment arrangements set by Congress at a time when USPS was making record profits are now cannibalising the viability of the business.

[Continue reading at Post&Parcel]