MONTPELIER, VT – Vermont’s Congressional Delegation held a rally with members of the Montpelier community and the Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience on the effort to restore the state capital’s post office. Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL), and a representative for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) spoke at the rally. 

“The Postal Service is an essential public service that is vital to our democracy and the lives of Vermonters—and it’s time the national management at USPS treat it that way,” said the Vermont Congressional Delegation. “The consistent failure of USPS national management to deliver for the people of Vermont and Montpelier is incredibly frustrating. We stand in solidarity with the residents and postal workers of Vermont’s capital city who need and deserve a functioning post office. We will accept nothing less. We’re going to keep fighting until we get it.” 

Since the catastrophic flood damage this summer, more than five months ago, the Montpelier Post Office has operated out of a series of temporary locations, including trucks that failed to provide safe working conditions for employees or reliable service to the community. In October, Sanders, Welch, and Balint sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy calling on him to restore postal service in Montpelier, protect worker safety on the job, and address the deterioration of service across Vermont and in rural communities across the country.  

In November, USPS closed the temporary units in Montpelier without a timely plan to restore full postal operational service to Montpelier. 

In December, Sen. Welch and Sen. Sanders were joined by Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) in sending a letter to President Biden urging him to nominate individuals to the USPS Board of Governors by the end of the year who will hold Postmaster General Louis DeJoy accountable for his failure to provide adequate mail service in rural communities.

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