Six days of mail a week could soon be a thing of the past.

The postmaster general says huge deficits could soon force the post office to cut out one day of mail delivery. He's asking Congress to lift the requirement that the mail be delivered six days a week.

It doesn't mean that Saturday would be the day that's lost. Previous post office studies have looked at the possibility of skipping another day when mail flow is light -- such as Tuesday.

The post office, which is dealing with smaller mail volume and rising costs, lost $2.8 billion last year. And Postmaster General John Potter says the loss could reach $6 billion this year.

Potter says he needs to consider "every option." He says cutting back delivery to five days a week wouldn't necessarily happen right away -- adding that the agency is working to cut costs in other ways.

He says it would be up to the postal governing board to make the final decision on changing the delivery schedule.