Klobuchar, Franken urge for delay on post office closings

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U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken urged Senate leaders to delay the closing or consolidation of post offices and mail processing facilities for six months. The senators joined 18 colleagues in a letter that said the moratorium is needed so that sensible reforms can be considered before the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) closes local facilities, many of which would impact rural communities in Minnesota.

“As the U.S. Postal Service takes steps to turn its financial situation around, it is important that it take into consideration the needs of rural communities,” said Klobuchar. “I believe we need to enact reforms to help the Postal Service adjust to a digital world and recognize the concerns of rural communities.”

"Congress first needs to get the U.S. Postal Service’s financial house in order and make needed reasonable reforms that preserve jobs” Sen. Franken said. “As we do that, I want USPS officials to listen to - and work with - communities in Minnesota and across the country so that residents and businesses who rely on the postal service will not be unduly harmed. This is especially important in rural communities, where the effects of closing a post office are more dramatic.”

Recently, USPS proposed a cost-cutting plan that would close or consolidate nearly 3,700 mostly-rural post offices and more than 250 mail processing facilities, eliminating thousands of jobs in communities across the country. In Minnesota, 117 post offices, as well as processing centers in Bemidji, Duluth, Rochester and Waite Park are currently on the closure list.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Appropriations Committee Chair Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), and Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Sens. Klobuchar and Franken urged a six month moratorium on these closures and consolidations so that Congress can move forward with legislation that would significantly reform the postal service and address its financial struggles. Klobuchar and Franken will also meet with Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe this afternoon to discuss the six month moratorium proposal.

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