U.S. POSTAL SERVICE: Information on Recent Changes to Delivery Standards, Operations, and Performance, GAO-14-828R: Published: Sep 25, 2014. Publicly Released: Oct 27, 2014: “Since 2012, USPS has instituted several initiatives aimed at reducing expenses in its mail delivery and processing networks as part of broader efforts to address its fiscal challenges and move toward financial viability. These initiatives included changing the mail delivery standards for some types of mail and then consolidating many mail processing operations and facilities. GAO was asked to review these changes and how they may have affected mail delivery performance. This report describes (1) changes to delivery standards starting in 2012 and how they affected the number of days it takes for mail to be delivered, (2) operational changes USPS has made starting in 2012 and how these may have affected delivery time, and (3) trends in delivery performance starting in fiscal year 2011. GAO reviewed USPS’s rules and regulations that define its delivery standards and operational changes, other relevant reports from USPS, the Postal Regulatory Commission, and USPS’s Federal Register notices about its operational changes and changes to its delivery standards. GAO compared mail delivery performance and volume data before and after delivery standard changes, from fiscal years 2011 through the third quarter of fiscal year 2014.”