US Senators call for colleagues to reject ban on USPS plant closures

US Senators call for colleagues to reject ban on USPS plant closures

Postal reform advocates in the US Senate have called on their colleagues to allow the US Postal Service to reduce the size of its mail processing network. The Senate is currently awaiting a floor hearing for postal reform legislation that would restructure the annual multi-billion dollar healthcare and pension funding obligations that are crippling the Postal Service.

Cash-strapped USPS, meanwhile, which has been waiting years for Congress to pass such measures without success, is now preparing to close 82 mail processing plants across the country in order to stem some of its breathtaking losses.

Last month a group of 50 Senators decided to bypass the postal reform debate in the Senate entirely by asking colleagues drafting government budget legislation to include within it a one-year ban on USPS closing mail plants.

The Appropriations legislation must be passed by Congress by October to keep the federal government running.

Senators Tom Carper and Tom Coburn, respectively the leading Democrat and Republican on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and proponents of comprehensive postal reform, have now called on the Senate Appropriations Committee to reject the calls for a moratorium on mail plant closures.

Uncertain future

In a letter sent on Friday, the Senators said of the moratorium: “Instead of actually fixing the problem and providing a roadmap to a strong and vital Postal Service in the 21st Century, that approach will further undermine customer confidence and ensure that the Postal Service continues to twist in the wind, facing an uncertain future that could ultimately hasten its demise.”

From the Postal Service’s point of view, it needs to close mail plants in order to adapt its network to the ongoing decline in mail volume, as well as to help reduce its operating costs and restore profitability. USPS is $15bn in debt and has made $45bn in losses since 2006.

USPS already closed 141 mail processing facilities in 2012 and 2013, and since 2006 has reduced the size of its network from 675 plants to 320.

The latest phase of consolidation in the network is set to start in the New Year, and is forecast to save $750m a year in operating costs, but could affect 15,000 staff.

Senators signing last month’s letter demanding a one-year delay for such plans expressed concerns about the job losses and the fact that consolidating the mail processing network will reduce the amount of First Class Mail that enjoys an overnight service.

“Slowing down mail delivery even further will hurt senior citizens on fixed incomes, small businesses and the entire economy,” they warned. Their position has been supported by the postal unions.

But Senators Carper and Coburn said now was not the time for “kicking the can down the road”.

“This is not the time for more wing and a prayer. Instead, we urge you to work with us to pass the thoughtful and comprehensive reforms that are embodied in S. 1486,” they said. “They will not only preserve mail delivery standards and delay or prevent plant closures, they will serve to modernize the Postal Service and ensure that it has the tools and resources to thrive in the Digital Age of this 21st Century.”

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