U.S. Rep. Sam Graves has taken the congressional lead in pushing the U.S. Postal Service to continue its six-day mail delivery service.

The Northwest Missouri lawmaker introduced legislation Friday that would express "the sense of the House" about maintaining a mail schedule that began in 1912.

The proposed resolution has been referred to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Reps. Nick Rahall, D-W.V., Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., have joined the Missouri Republican as co-sponsors.

Postal officials, citing an estimated loss of $6 billion this fiscal year, have floated the idea of reducing the service's delivery schedule to five days.

Mr. Graves' resolution says six-day delivery proves "an essential service" for working families that depend on the postal service for paychecks.

Also, "Social Security is the primary or sole source of income for many senior citizens, and any delay in the delivery of their Social Security checks would make it difficult for them to purchase even essential items, such as food and medicine," the resolution reads.

It also contends that a back-up of mail from the curtailed schedule could actually escalate costs because of increased overtime.