WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined an effort led by Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), along with 22 Members of Congress, in sending a letter to United States Postmaster General Louis DeJoy opposing the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) recent nationwide consolidation and review announcements that could severely diminish mail service reliability for postal networks across the country.
“A common theme of these announcements is the so-called ‘modernization’ of Processing and Distribution Centers into Local Processing Centers,” the lawmakers wrote. “Taken together, these proposals dismantle parts of the Postal Service’s robust network that helps distribute mail across the country and places outgoing sorting into more distant facilities. The result of this change is that mail will need to travel farther from its origin to its sorting, creating inefficiencies in the system, especially for local mail.”
“These consolidation proposals never have had any discernible support from local communities. On the contrary, we have heard strong opposition to these efforts from USPS customers, community leaders, local businesses, and postal employees,” the lawmakers continued. “Rather than marching forward with these plans and offering short and vague statements dismissing concerns, the Postal Service should be communicating why the organization believes these changes are beneficial and what the specific impact of the changes will be to mail service.”
“The Postal Service provides an essential service upon which our constituents rely. The robust nature of the Postal Service’s current network is its strength, not its weakness. To ensure that our constituents continue to receive reliable service, we urge you to reconsider these consolidation announcements,” the lawmakers concluded.
Senator Welch has pushed for postal reform to better serve rural communities and has called for improvements to USPS’ national management. In March, Welch took to the Senate Floor to call out Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s failure to deliver for rural America, pointing to the postal delays plaguing Vermont and other rural areas because of DeJoy’s policies, and the nearly nine month-long fight to re-open a fully-functioning Post Office in Vermont’s capital city after flooding. Following Senator Welch’s advocacy, the Postal Service announced it would finally be re-opening a retail post office in Montpelier.
Last year, Senator Welch led a group of colleagues in urging President Biden to nominate individuals to the USPS Board of Governors who will work to fix the mail delivery issues in rural communities. The Senators asked the president to send Board of Governors nominees to Congress who will hold U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy accountable for his failure to provide adequate mail services in rural communities.
Read the full letter.
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