U. S. Postal Service is running on empty.

U.S.  Postmaster General David Steiner told a House Oversight subcommittee on March 17th that they will run out of money in October or November. He reported that the Service has lost $118 billion since 2007 and is considering all options, including closing the Service, extending delivery times, raising the cost of a first-class stamp to over $1.00 from the current $0.78, or cutting back on mail delivery times.

Like the national debt and the impending bankruptcy of the Social Security Trust Fund within the next seven years, Congress is once again inattentive to the problems the country is facing. These issues should have been addressed before they became a crisis.

I’m Gabriella Bedsworth, and I know how to fix problems. I’m running for Congress to bring Common Sense back to D. C. Here’s my idea and the rationale behind the idea. First, the rational. Times have changed, but the postal service hasn’t. Many of us get our bills digitally and pay them electronically. Letter writing is a lost art. Today, people use email or shoot off a text. Bank statements, brokerage statements, and bills are often sent electronically. When is the last time the postman delivered more than one piece of first-class mail to you on any given day? But the postal service stops by your home daily to bring you your junk mail.

The solution is to make deliveries to residential neighbors three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for some neighborhoods, and Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday for others. The Postal Service could reduce its labor and transportation costs with this change. Will this cover the shortfall they face? Probably not. The price of stamps may need to increase. If the trend of declining first-class mail continues, delivery might need to be cut to four days a week, perhaps Monday and Thursday for some neighborhoods and Tuesday and Friday for others, which would further lower costs. I understand that postal workers might have to work longer hours, but I believe most would welcome a shorter workweek if they shifted to a four-day schedule. At this point, I’m recommending eliminating weekend deliveries on business routes.

I am Gabriella Michele Bedsworth, or simply Gabriella, and I am running to serve as your Congresswoman for Virginia's 5th Congressional District. If elected, I will bring my ability to work well with everyone to help pass laws that benefit the country and solve problems. But first, I need your vote and financial support to make this happen. No matter where you live, you can contribute to my campaign. If you live in Virginia’s 5^th District, I would appreciate your vote. Please share my website (www.GabriellaForCongress.com) with family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and anyone else interested in bringing back common sense to politics. Together, we can change the status quo in national politics.