Due to a mounting deficit, Washington, D.C. lawmakers are considering reduction of nationwide post office mail delivery from six days to five.One way or another, a decision by Congress is likely later this year.

“There has been a lot of interest in this,” said Al DeSarro, communication spokesman for U.S. Postal Service's western region in Denver.

Financially, the Postal Service is hurting.

“We're non-tax supported,” DeSarro said. All the post office's revenue is earned through charging postage.

The post office is anticipating a $6.5-billion deficit at the end of this fiscal year, DeSarro said.

If the post office reduces delivery services to five days, it could save $3.5 billion annually — at least, DeSarro said.

The economy is the big deficit culprit. Mail volume has declined by 15 percent this year, and businesses, also smarting from the economic pinch, represent 95 percent of the post office's volume, DeSarro said.

The cost of fuel is a killer, too.

The Postal Service has the largest fleet in the United States, outside the military — 220,000 vehicles, plus trucking and air-transport costs. It also pays $7 billion annually in employee retirement costs, DeSarro said.

The service is endeavoring to tighten its belt.

“We're doing a lot to save on costs,” DeSarro said.

Postal Service officials are working with Congress to extend retirement payments and to reduce the annual amount paid to retirees, DeSarro said.

At the same time, they also are striving to reduce the workforce by offering 30,000 employees early retirements, DeSarro said.

The service also is using more automation and adjusting mail routes.

Although some members of Congress are opposed to reducing delivery days, DeSarro said a majority of the public has expressed its support if it will save money, DeSarro said.

The options would be either no mail on Tuesdays or Saturdays. The business community prefers curtailing mail Saturdays, DeSarro said.

Increasing postage charges is not necessarily an option. If postage goes up, consumers will cut their visits to the post office, he said.

The price to buy a stamp or mail a package still is the about the best deal around.

“We're still one of the lowest-rate mailing systems in the world,” DeSarro said.

Despite its financial woes, shutting down one day a week is not an option Postal Service officials are partial to.

It would be up to Congress to make any cutback decisions, said Powell Postmaster Wendy Nielsen. But nothing has been decided at this time.