Donahoe Proposes Major Changes To Postal Service

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And it may be time to stocking up some more of those forever stamps. If Congress acts on the recommendations of the postmaster general, the price of a first class stamp could go up to 50 cents.

Patrick Donahoe is urging lawmakers to consider major changes to the operations of the U.S. Postal Service, all part of a plan to save $22-billion a year. In a letter addressed to Congress, he calls for slashing 150,000 jobs - mostly through retirements. The most significant savings would come from a proposal to break away from the federal health benefits plan.

The postmaster general also wants to extend delivery time for long-distance mail. This comes on top of an expected end to Saturday delivery service. Without changes, Donahoe projects the postal service will have annual losses of about $18 billion by 2015.

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